Two people fired for illegally accessing Jason Pierre-Paul’s medical records

You remember the story. Adam Schefter tweeted the medical charts of New York Football Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul’s amputation of his finger last July setting off a seemingly never-ending ethical debate over HIPAA violations and whether it was correct to tweet out what was supposed to be confidential information.

Well, after an internal investigation by Miami’s Jackson Memorial Hospital and its owner, Jackson Health System, two workers have been terminated for illegally accessing the records. A statement by Jackson Health does not go into detail due to pending litigation against the company and the hospital:

“During the investigation of a breach that occurred in July 2015, Jackson Health System became a party to related litigation. It is our policy that we do not comment during pending litigation. That litigation has now been settled. As part of our investigation into the breach, it was discovered that two employees inappropriately accessed the patient’s health record. That finding resulted in the termination of both employees. Protecting the privacy of our patients is a top priority at Jackson Health System. Any time we have allegations of a breach, we immediately and thoroughly investigate.”

It all leaves two people out of a job and a lesson learned that leaking confidential medical information will lead to a person’s undoing.

[NJ.com]