Allina Fires 32 for Records Snooping
Hospital Staffers Dismissed for Violating Privacy
Those dismissed by the Minnesota delivery system for violating privacy included 28 workers at Unity Hospital in Fridley and four at Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids. HIPAA prohibits healthcare workers from accessing the records of patients unless they're participating in their care.
Eleven teens and young adults were taken to the two hospitals March 17 after overdosing on the synthetic hallucinogen 2C-E at a party in Blaine, according to local news accounts. One of the youths died.
Allina spokesman David Kanihan stresses that the delivery system has consistently enforced its privacy policy by dismissing those who access records without a legitimate reason. "But this is larger in scope than other incidents we've had in the past," he says.
Every Allina employee receives training on the guidelines for when patient records can be accessed, he points out.
"We take our obligation to protect patient privacy very seriously," according to an Allina statement. "Anything short of a zero-tolerance approach to this issue would be inadequate."
