Health Information Management

Arkansas woman convicted for HIPAA violation

HIPAA Weekly Advisor, May 12, 2008

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Former nurse Andrea Smith recently pleaded guilty to wrongfully disclosing a patient’s health information for personal gain according to an April 17 article in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

 

Smith and her husband, Justin Smith, were indicted in December 2007 on two counts of conspiracy to wrongfully disclose individual health information for personal gain, along with one count of witness tampering, according to the article.

 

While working as a nurse for Northeast Arkansas Clinic in Jonesboro, AR, during November 2006, Andrea Smith accessed a patient’s PHI and gave the information to her husband. He later called the patient and threatened to use the information against the patient in “an upcoming legal proceeding,” according to a statement by Jane Duke, attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas.

 

“What every HIPAA-covered entity needs to realize and reinforce to its employees is that the privacy provisions of HIPAA are serious and have significant consequences if they are violated,” Duke said in the statement.

 

Andrea Smith faces up to 10 years imprisonment and/or a fine of up to $ 250, 000 in addition to a term of supervised release of up to three years. She has also been terminated from her former position at Northeast Arkansas Clinic.

 

For more information, click here.



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