Hospital worker arrested for stealing patient records
HIPAA Weekly Advisor, September 28, 2003
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A patient-care assistant at a Houston hospital was arrested August 25 for allegedly selling patient records, reports the Houston Chronicle. The employee is charged with commercial bribery in connection with the illegal sale of the records.
Investigators said 42-year-old Juvenal Caballero Guerrero is accused of selling patient records to a representative of a company that advertises "investigations regarding accidents and injuries." According to court documents, the company has sold stolen patient records to personal-injury lawyers, reports the Chronicle.
After an investigator for the district attorney followed Guerrero to a restaurant and spotted him delivering about 12 pages of patient information, which included names, insurance information, types of injuries, dates, home addresses, and phone numbers, to a representative of the company, Guerrero reportedly spotted the investigator and left the restaurant. The investigator found the tops of patient record sheets, identifying them as property of Memorial Hermann Hospital, in a restroom wastebasket, as well as torn-up patient records in an envelope and a handwritten list of names corresponding to the records that were sold.
The probe is expected to involve employees at several other area hospitals and institutions who have sold information, as well as lawyers who have bought it.
Go to http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/front/2070171 to read more.
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