In an effort to maximize efficiency, some of our unscrupulous P.I. attorneys have skipped casually dropping a business card at the scene of an accident in favor of going directly to the source for clients. The LV Sun is reporting that UMC has been selling a compilation of the hospital’s daily registration forms for accident patients to local attorneys (names still unknown). But worry not, citizens, Kathy Silver is on the case:
Kathy Silver, chief executive of the hospital, said Thursday in an interview with the Sun that she heard rumors about information being leaked from the trauma center early this summer. She said a source put her in touch with a local chiropractor, who shared with her the rumor that attorneys were illegally gaining access to patient information. She did a cursory investigation of the attorneys who had requested medical records, but she and the chiropractor agreed that nothing seemed unusual.Good enough for us ... what's for lunch?
Ok ... don't worry if Ms. Silver missed it, County Commissioner Lawrence Weekly has it handled:
County Commissioner Lawrence Weekly, who serves as chairman of the UMC board of trustees, told the Sun that he heard of the alleged breach from more than one reliable source about 10 days ago. He said he was told that representatives of law firms were approaching car accident victims even while they were in the hospital. He had not talked to the hospital about it because he was not sure if it was illegal for private patient information to leave the hospital.
Yeah, sharing private medical information is more of a faux pas, really. Why else would we have to stand a football field away from the next person being helped at the grocery-store pharmacy? And really, if it's for a good cause ... like a frivolous lawsuit ... where's the harm?
Back to reality - the attorneys involved will likely maybe be investigated by the bar for their role in this. However, as the Sun notes, UMC could be in a whole heap of trouble:
HIPAA violations can be investigated by the county district attorney, the state attorney general’s office or the United States Attorney’s office, Pritts said. Congress increased the penalties for HIPAA violations, effective at the end of November. A person who violates a patient’s privacy with the intent to sell information can be fined up to $250,000 and imprisoned for up to 10 years.
We're always interested in names and numbers. Anyone on the "inside" care to share who the attorneys involved were and how much they paid for the lists?
(LV Sun)
