University of Iowa discovers patient privacy violations

In yet another embarrassing breach of patient data by hospital staff members--including high-profile peeking at celebrity files at UCLA--officials at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics have discovered that at least eight of their employees have improperly accessed a patient's record in the past month. The discovery was made as part of a routine review of confidential patient records.

One of the eight employees was fired, and the other seven were given five days unpaid leave for their infractions. Officials are also increasing employee training and their enforcement of patient privacy rules.

Hospital spokesman Tom Moore says that they don't believe that the information was given out, but simply accessed improperly. He also refused to release the identity of the patient in question, so there's no word on whether this is another case of a celebrity's privacy being violated.

To learn more about the violations:
-read this Modern Healthcare piece [1]

Related Articles:
UCLA staff accused of viewing Britney Spears' records [2]
More UCLA staffers cited for record snooping [3]
Union fights suspensions for viewing star's records [4]
Park Nicollet suspends employees for EMR snooping [5]

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