Because of the serious breach of computer security at the VA,
http://www.nytimes.com/... if any veteran has an "Infectious Diseases" "Immune Disorders" or "Nutritional Deficiencies", that information could now become public because of the loss of recently-stolen "disability rating" information.
http://www.warms.vba.va.gov/... Millions of veterans' medical and psychiatric diagnostic information was stolen from a VA employee when he took the information home on computer disks. Millions of veterans may be exposed to embarrassment and even extortion and blackmail because of this breach of the private medical and psychiatric privacy.
The MSM is reporting that the lost information "does not include medical records". But, the New York Times reports and VA Secretary R. James Nicholson acknowledge that "the data on some veterans included "numerical disability ratings and the diagnostic codes which identify the disabilities being compensated." Shockingly, if a Veteran had AIDS, alcoholism or a past drug abuse diagnosis, that information seems to be among the information in the lost files, according to the VA Secretary.
http://www.warms.vba.va.gov/...
Among veterans whose diagnoses were lost might be Senator John McCain, whose "musculoskeletal disorder" (arm problem) could be among his now-public diagnoses. http://www.warms.vba.va.gov/...
But, hypothetically, what if Senator McCain or another veteran had a more embarrassing medical problem, like "Penis deformity, with loss of erectile power"(numerical disability rating 7522 4.115b)? http://72.14.209.104/...
That too would become public knowledge if the person who now has the VA diagnostic files opens them and looks at the contents. http://72.14.209.104/...
Might John Kerry, John McCain or another veteran drop out of the presidential race, knowing that someone somewhere has damning records that should have been kept a secret?
The VA's own documents explain how private this information is. One VA document explains that, "The term "diagnosis" includes, for example, "any reference to an individual's alcohol or drug abuse or to a condition which is identified as having been caused by that abuse or any reference to sickle cell anemia or infection with the human immunodeficiency virus which is made for the purpose of treatment or referral for treatment." http://www.warms.vba.va.gov/...
According VA documents, diagnostic codes are "based upon the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, of the American Psychiatric Association (DSM-IV)." http://www.warms.vba.va.gov/...
It is precisely because some of these diagnoses are so private and potent that they "may be disclosed or used only as permitted by [] regulations and may not otherwise be disclosed or used in any civil, criminal, administrative, or legislative proceedings conducted by any Federal, State, or local authority." And now they are all potentially public, because VA (Bush Administration) carelessness had made them so. §1.462 Confidentiality restrictions. http://www.warms.vba.va.gov/...
Under 38 U.S.C. 7332(g) §1.463, entitled "Criminal penalty for violations", "any person who violates any provision of this [confidentiality] statute or §§1.460 through 1.499 of this part shall be fined not more than $5,000 in the case of a first offense, and not more than $20,000 for a subsequent offense. http://www.warms.vba.va.gov/...
Below is a list of the very private major diagnostic code categories that were lost. In an individual veterans' medical records, these are broken down into specific "diagnostic codes" so that doctors, nurses and insurers know EXACTLY what medical and psychiatric problems the patient is suffering from:
38 CFR Book C-Schedule for Rating Disabilities
Supplementals - Supplements to Book C
4.1 - 4.31 - Subpart A - General Policy in Rating
Subpart B - Subpart B - Disability Rating
4.40 - 4.73 - The Musculoskeletal System
4.75 - 4.84a-5 - The Organs of Special Sense
4.85 - 4.87a - Impairment of Auditory Acuity
4.88 - 4.89 - Infectious Diseases, Immune Disorders and Nutritional Deficiencies
4.96 - 4.97 - The Respiratory System
4.100 - 4.104 - The cardiovascular System
4.110 - 4.114 - The Digestive System
4.115 - 4.115b - The Genitourinary System
4.116 - Gynecological Conditions and Disorders of the Breast
4.117 - The Hemic and Lymphatic Systems
4.118 - The Skin
4.119 - The Endocrine System
4.120 - 4.124a - Neurological Conditions and Convulsive Disorders
4.125 - 4.130 - Mental Disorders
4.149 - 4.150 - Dental and Oral Conditions
http://www.warms.vba.va.gov/...
The loss of four decades of veterans' medical and psychiatric diagnoses is a very serious problem with national security implications, since many recently discharged veterans may be subject to call-up at the present and in the future, while some affected older veterans are members of Congress, state and local police forces, judges lawyers and the media.
So, the New York Times, MSNBC and other MSM are very misleading when they report that "No medical records or financial information had been compromised" in the recent theft of veterans' computer data from the home of a VA worker, here http://www.nytimes.com/... and here http://www.msnbc.msn.com/.... They acknowledge in their reports that the information is "enough knowledge for some unauthorized people to compute compensation payments." In fact, the risks from the lost medical diagnoses could be much more serious than credit problems and potentially much more devastating for individual veterans.
No medical record is more sensitive than the fact of a medical problem, the diagnosis itself. We are speaking of such diseases as AIDS, which are diagnoses that doctors and other medical professionals communicate to one another through the diagnostic ratings that are in the lost computer files. Some unauthorized person may now be possession of every veteran's most sensitive medical information, including their listed diagnoses.
The Veterans Administration has made a monumental blunder that exposes everyone who has been in the military. It creates issues of potential blackmail and blackballing far more global than the questions related to "don't ask, don't tell", because now every veteran's most embarrassing medical and psychiatric information is now be somewhere in the public realm. It could all hypothetically be published on a rogue website tomorrow, or it could eb used to selectively blackmail, extort or control individual veterans, even those subject to call up for current and future conflicts.
In fact, it seems probable that veterans with psychiatric diagnoses such as "Manic Depressive" and Borderline Schizophrenic", and "Obsessive Compulsive Disorder" may well have been potentially "outed" by this latest loss of data.
If this information were to become public, veterans diagnosed with mental illnesses, communicable diseases and other potentially embarrassing medical conditions, could suffer public embarrassment, loss of employment and employment opportunities as well as dissolution of marriages and social relationships.
Although the VA says the thieves probably don't know what they have, the practice of selling whole databases of private financial information over internet, through specialized illicit websites, means that the risk is great. We cannot and must not assume that all thieves are unaware of the value of a whole database of veterans' Social Security numbers, addresses, birthdates and private medical diagnosis.
The VA reports that information is lost on veterans going back to 1975. But if this includes all those who have been treated, rated or processed by the VA in that time, it may include all veterans since World War II. In light of VA and MSM attempts to minimize the seriousness of the loss of diagnostic codes, they cannot be relied upon to tell the whole story when addressing the categories (ages) of veterans potentially affected by this loss of data.
The Federal Government may offer free credit reports to affected veterans, but those free reports will not reflect the most serious and embarrassing individual data that has now potentially become a permanent part of the public realm.
When the VA informs veterans that their data is now potentially public, the notice might read as follows: "Dear Mr. Johnson: We regret to inform you that, due to a monumental blunder on our part, it may soon become public knowledge that you a drug addict with AIDS. We sincerely regret any inconvenience this may cause. To allay any concerns you may now have, we will provide you with a free copy of your credit report. Please accept our assurance that this lack of caution with respect to millions of private medical records does not reflect the security preparedness of the Federal Government as a whole."