Tag Archives: identity

On Animal Health Privacy

(All images Imagen 3)

I’ve discussed identity and privacy regarding people.

I’ve discussed identity and privacy regarding non-person entities.

But I missed something in between.

Earlier this week I was discussing a particular veterinary software use case with an undisclosed person when I found myself asking how the data processing aspects of the use case complied with HIPAA, the U.S. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.

Then I caught myself, realizing that HIPAA (previously discussed here) does not apply to dogs, cats, cows, or other animals. They are considered property, and we all know how U.S. laws have treated property in the past.

So you can violate an animal’s privacy all you want and not run afoul of HIPAA. 

But you could run afoul of some other law. As Barb Rand noted back in 2013, 35 states (at the time) had “statutes that address the confidentiality of veterinary patient records.”

And when animal records are commingled with human records—for example, for emotional support animals—protected health information rules do kick in.

Unless the animal is intelligent enough to manage their own prescriptions without human assistance.

Bredemarket’s Three (So Far) Industry Pillar Pages

Since I started creating (sort of) pillar pages in April 2022, I’ve built more, including three devoted to particular industries.

My “Banking Changes” Post Needs an Update

Back in July 2023, I wrote a post about financial remote onboarding which included a section entitled “Three changes in banking over the last fifty years.” The first change I addressed was locational change.

The first crack in the whole idea of “going to the bank” was the ability to bank without entering the door of the bank…and being able to bank on Sunday at midnight if you felt like it. Yes, I’m talking about Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), where the “teller,” instead of being a person, was a bunch of metal and a TV screen.

But when I was recently reading a Bluesky post from mclevin that stated (correctly) that the decline in tellers didn’t start with artificial intelligence, but automated teller machines, it occurred to me that even the once-revolutionary ATM is itself outdated in financial terms.

Think about it.

What are the two most important functions of an ATM?

  • To deposit paper checks.
  • To obtain physical cash.

I think you see where this is going.

While the ATM still fulfills these functions today, how often do we receive paper checks? And even if we do, why go to a distant ATM to deposit the check when you can often perform the same function using your mobile phone?

And how often do we use cash to pay for things? Often we use a card…or a mobile phone.

Why is Healthcare Identity Critical?

Oosto has highlighted two reasons why it’s critical to identify people in healthcare environments.

Healthcare facilities account for 42% of infant abductions…

Think about it. If all you need to identify yourself (or impersonate someone else) is your name and birthdate, a fraudster could easily gain access to a facility and abduct someone else’s child.

(H)ealthcare workers experience violence—both physical and verbal—at a shockingly 5 times higher rate than other industries. This violence accounts for up to 73% of all nonfatal workplace injuries caused by violence.

Again, if you don’t know who you’re dealing with, bad things can happen. I’ll admit that identity verification doesn’t solve this-people can attack healthcare workers even if their identities are known-but the danger of unidentified assaults is great.

Oosto discusses these and other healthcare topics in a recent podcast: “Healthcare Under Pressure: Bringing a Championship Mindset to Healthcare Security.“

Door-to-door Scamming

This was shared on a private Facebook group. Looks REALLY scammy.

Here is what Spectrum says about scams:

“If you’re curious about the status of your account, you can always use the My Spectrum App or sign in to your Spectrum account to check the details. Those are safe and secure ways to connect to your account anytime and from anywhere.”

Featuring the Proper Second Video, Biometrics and Bredemarket

My “Biometrics and Bredemarket” video is buried in the middle of my “Ready, Fire, Aim” post, but people are finding it anyway.

(They’re skipping the short video and watching the long one.)

So it’s time to feature “Biometrics and Bredemarket” on its own.

Biometrics and Bredemarket.

If you don’t feel like watching a 2 minute and 20 second video, here are the bullets:

  • Marketing and writing deliverables
  • Provided by a biometric product marketing expert 
  • With industry knowledge
  • Of multiple biometric modalities
  • Who delivers content
  • And proposals
  • And analyses.

Learn more in the video, or at my “CPA” page.

Not that type of CPA.

Use One ID, Lose Another: China vs. China

(Chiang and Mao in 1945, Public Domain)

When you obtain a government ID from one national government, you normally don’t get a second government ID from a different national government, unless you hold dual citizenship.

But for some pairs of countries, dual citizenship is untenable.

“President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) has cautioned Taiwanese citizens against China’s reported efforts to lure them into applying for Chinese ID cards and residency permits.”

Because Taiwan is a contested territory, acceptance of People’s Republic of China IDs could resulted in PRC claims to Taiwan…to protect its citizens there. Therefore Taiwan really discourages this.

“According to local regulations, citizens who receive a Chinese ID will have their Taiwanese household registration revoked.”

And we thought that moving Meta’s trust and safety teams from California to Texas was a big deal. At least the states of California and Texas are not launching military strikes against each other.

At least not yet.