UCLA Hospital Hit With HIPAA Fine On Celeb Records

Trailrunner7 writes "The University of California at Los Angeles Health Services has agreed to pay a $865,000 fine and pledged to tweak their infrastructure after potentially violating the HIPAA regulation when several employees apparently accessed the health records of various celebrity patients at the hospital without valid justification. This is the third major HIPAA fine issued by the Department of Health and Human Services in 2011, following a fine of $4.3 million for Cignet and a penalty of $1 million for Massachusetts General Hospital."

Comments

Shocked, shocked I tell you!

[overshoot]

Part of the system's design requirement is that caregivers should be able to access the records of an unresponsive patient. You know, the "found unconscious at an out-of-town auto wreck" scenario. And that's a worthy objective.

Trouble is, it also means that ANY medical personnel, anywhere, have to have access to everyone's medical records. Obvious potential for abuse, so all of the protections have to be post hoc.

Re:Pledged to tweak their infrastructure

[ethanms]

I was thinking it sounds like "fire those involved and make it very clear too all remaining employees that those involved were fired and are unlikely to get another job in the medical field after being terminated for a HIPPA violation...

HIPAA is a travesty

[Tony Isaac]

I work in the electronic medical records industry, and I can tell you that HIPAA protects your privacy about as well as those multi-page "privacy policy" letters you get from your bank and other businesses...you know, the ones that tell you, in lots of fine print, that they will do whatever they want with your information.

Sure, HIPAA requires doctors and hospitals to get your consent before sharing your information with others. That's why, when you see a doctor these days, you have to first sign that consent form! If you don't sign, you get sub-standard care, or have insurance hassles...basically, you have to sign. So tell me how THAT helps anything!

What HIPAA DOES do well, is make it difficult for spouses (and other caring family members or friends) to find out what's going on with their loved ones when disaster strikes. It also costs hospitals and doctors tons of money to comply (I know, my company is the recipient of some of that money)...and that in turn drives up the cost of health care.

HIPAA may have been created with good intentions in mind, but it is a travesty and can't be repealed fast enough!