Privacy Digest

Tri-City moves to fire 10 employees for allegedly breaking privacy rules North County Times - North San Diego and Southwest Riverside County News: "OCEANSIDE --- Administrators at Tri-City Medical Center said Friday they intend to fire 10 employees who allegedly breached patient privacy policies.

Suellyn Ellerbe, the hospital's chief operating officer and chief nurse executive, said an internal investigation conducted by Tri-City's emergency and radiology departments concluded that five nurses, three secretaries and two radiology technicians violated federal patient privacy guidelines. Ellerbe said the hospital has told all 10 employees they will be fired, adding that the employees are currently in termination hearings.

Ellerbe said that on April 18 a security guard saw an employee attempt to take a picture of a patient in Tri-City's psychiatric ward with a camera built into a cellular telephone.

'The photograph was not taken,' Ellerbe said, adding that hospital policy forbids cell phones in the hospital's emergency room.

Ellerbe said the employee who tried to take the photograph was put on immediate administrative leave.

'We started the investigation on that day as well,' she said, adding that the investigation turned up another patient privacy violation.

Ellerbe said several nurses informed investigators that some employees viewed, printed and photographed a patient's X-ray without proper authorization.

Ellerbe declined to state what was so interesting about the X-ray that it would command the attention of so many hospital employees.

'I cannot discuss that, because I might end up disclosing patient information,' Ellerbe said.
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(Read Original Article - Via North County Times - North San Diego and Southwest Riverside County News>.)