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UCLA Will Fire Medical Workers for Violating Britney Spears’ Medical Privacy
By Privacy Maven | March 15, 2008
While very few others will leave Britney alone, medical professionals must be held to a higher standard. Violating anyone’s medical privacy is unethical as well as against the law.
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 during her recent hospitalization in its psychiatric unit, a person familiar with the matter said Friday.
In addition, six physicians 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 were caught prying into records 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.
“It’s not only surprising, it’s very frustrating and it’s very disappointing,” said Jeri Simpson, the Santa Monica hospital’s director of human resources, who handled the discipline in the first instance.
“I feel like we do everything that we possibly can to ensure the privacy of our patients and I know we feel horrible that it happened again.”
Simpson said UCLA treats celebrities “all the time and you never hear about this.”
“I don’t know what it is about this particular person, I don’t know what it is about her,” she added, referring to Spears.
Hoping to head off such problems, UCLA officials sent a memo the morning Spears was hospitalized Jan. 31, reminding employees that they were not allowed to peruse records unless directly caring for a patient. Spears, 26, was not specifically mentioned.
“Each member of our workforce, which includes our physicians, faculty, employees, volunteers and students, is responsible to ensure that medical information is only accessed as required for treatment, for facilitating payment of a claim or for supporting our healthcare operations,” chief compliance and privacy officer Carole A. Klove wrote in an e-mail to all employees.
“Please remember that any unauthorized access by a workforce member will be subject to disciplinary action, which could include termination.”
Such prying is also considered a violation of state and federal laws governing medical privacy. The laws allow for fines of up to $250,000, although such penalties are uncommon. Under different laws, separate fines are allowed if patients are receiving treatment for mental illness or substance abuse.
The state Department of Public Health said late Friday that it had opened an investigation of the hospital.
The LA Times chronicles several other cases of breeches of celebrity medical privacy.
Topics: Public Figures and Privacy, Medical Privacy |