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Justice Department: Potential prosecutions under medical privacy law limited
Healthcare Security Weekly, June 13, 2005
The U.S. Justice Department last week decided that most healthcare workers cannot be prosecuted for stealing personal patient information, reports the Associated Press.
The current privacy law to protect medical information only applies to hospitals, insurers, doctors, and other healthcare providers that bill for their services. For example, hospital clerks, hospital maintenance staff, and nurses cannot face criminal charges under the current law because the fine print indicates that the law doesn't apply to them, according to Steven G. Bradbury, the Justice lawyer who heads the office of legal counsel.
This ruling is significant in that it may help overturn a 2003 conviction obtained under medical privacy rules, and it may also force federal prosecutors to disregard the more than 13,000 pending complaints alleging violations.
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