Sixteen Fired for Records Snooping

HDM Breaking News, November 30, 2009

The Harris County Hospital District in Houston recently terminated 16 employees for violating the HIPAA privacy rule after improperly accessing patient information on a colleague who was shot during a robbery attempt, the Houston Chronicle reports.

Most of those fired worked at Ben Taub General Hospital where a first-year Baylor College of Medicine resident worked and was treated following the robbery. At least a dozen employees not involved in the resident's care accessed records, a source told the Chronicle. Fired employees include managers, nurses and clerks, among others.

Baylor employs physicians working at the hospital. A Baylor spokesperson would not comment to the newspaper on whether employees have been sanctioned or are under investigation.

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