Fifteen employees of Kaiser Permanente Bellflower (Calif.) Medical Center lost their jobs after snooping in the electronic medical records of Nadya Suleman, who delivered octoplets at the 218-bed hospital.
Kaiser spokesman Jim Anderson said the hospital conducted a review of Suleman’s records because of the extraordinary level of interest and discovered that 23 employees “had looked at her records without having a good reason to do so.” Two were fired and another 13 resigned “in lieu of termination.” Another eight received another form of discipline that Anderson declined to specify. He also declined to characterize their positions, saying only they “run the gamut of healthcare workers.”
Suleman delivered the octoplets Jan. 26, and the hospital, at Suleman’s request, initially reported the unusual procedure without naming her, but within days she was an international celebrity. The hospital reported the breaches to the California Public Health Department and has added extra layers of security to selected records with new prompts asking users to identify their purpose and enter additional information about themselves. “It also serves as kind of a reminder: Are you sure you want to look at this record?” Anderson said.
Anderson said Kaiser has no reason to believe any of Suleman’s medical information was sold, as has been the motivation in other cases of celebrity snooping.
