UCLA Workers Snooped In Britney Spears' Medical Records
Charles Ornstein writes in The Los Angeles Times:
UCLA Medical Center is taking steps to fire at least 13 employees and has suspended at least six others for snooping in the confidential medical records of pop star Britney Spears, who was recently hospitalized in its psychiatric ward, a person familiar with the matter said today.
An additional six physicians also face discipline for peeking at her computerized records, the person said.
Questioned about the breaches, officials acknowledged that it was not the first time UCLA had disciplined workers for looking at Spears' records. Several workers were caught snooping after Spears gave birth to her first son, Sean Preston, in September 2005 at Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center and Orthopaedic Hospital, officials said. Some were fired.
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Hat-tip: Chronicles of Dissent
More Snooping Into UCLA Medical Records
An AP newswire article, via The New York Times, reports that:
California first lady Maria Shriver is among more than 30 celebrities and other high-profile patients who had their confidential records breached at UCLA Medical Center, medical officials said.
The woman responsible, whose name was not released, is the same employee who sneaked into actress Farrah Fawcett's medical records, officials told the Los Angeles Times on Sunday.
That worker was fired in May 2007 after UCLA learned of the widespread breaches, but patients were not notified, the hospital said.
In all, the woman improperly looked at 61 patients' medical records in 2006 and 2007, according to state and local medical officials. These included Fawcett, Shriver, and 31 other politicians, celebrities and other well-known people, the paper said. Names of the other patients were not disclosed.
The head of the UCLA Hospital System, Dr. David Feinberg, apologized for the breaches and said the woman behind them had been a ''rogue'' employee.
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More UCLA Personnel Linked to Medical Records Snooping
Charles Ornstein writes in The Los Angeles Times:
California health regulators have connected 14 more people affiliated with UCLA Medical Center, including four physicians, to the improper viewing of celebrity medical records, bringing the number of current and former workers apparently implicated in the snooping scandal to 68.
The additional violations came to light in a report by the California Department of Public Health, which was sent to the hospital Friday. The findings are the latest to stem from reports in The Times about UCLA employees prying into records of celebrities and co-workers. The regulators faulted UCLA for failure to maintain patient confidentiality and report the breaches to regulators.
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UCLA Staffer Looked Through Farrah Fawcett's Medical Records
Charles Ornstein writes in The Los Angeles Times:
Months before UCLA Medical Center caught its staffers snooping in the medical records of pop star Britney Spears, '70s TV icon Farrah Fawcett learned that a hospital employee had surreptitiously gone through records of her cancer treatments there, documents and interviews show.
Fawcett's lawyers said they are concerned that the information was subsequently leaked or sold to tabloids, including the National Enquirer.
Shortly after UCLA doctors told Fawcett that her cancer had returned -- and before she had told her son and closest friends -- the Enquirer posted the news on its website. Indeed, alarming headlines regularly cropped up in the Enquirer and its sister publication, the Globe, within days of Fawcett's treatments at the UCLA hospital.
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Ex-UCLA Worker Accused of Selling Celebrity's Personal Info
An AP newswire article, via MSNBC, reports that:
A former UCLA Medical Center employee was indicted on charges that she accessed the records of dozens of high-profile patients and selling the information to a media outlet, prosecutors said Tuesday.
The indictment follows revelations of privacy breaches involving at least 61 patients at the University of California, Los Angeles’ hospitals, including actress Farrah Fawcett, singer Britney Spears and California first lady Maria Shriver.
The indictment accuses Lawanda Jackson, 49, of one count of illegally obtaining individually identifiable health information for commercial advantage. Under seal since April 9, the indictment was made public Tuesday.
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Gov. Schwarzenegger Creates Hospital Privacy Oversight Office
Patrick McGreevy writes in The Los Angeles Times:
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger took action today to enable the state to impose stiff fines on hospital employees who snoop in their patients' files, months after California First Lady Maria Shriver was one of several celebrities whose privacy was invaded at UCLA Medical Center.
The governor approved the creation of a new state Office of Health Information Integrity with power to review security plans and violations and assess fines of up to $250,000 against violators of patient privacy.
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