Former Hospital Worker Arrested for Accessing, Selling Patient Records

Following a 10-month investigation, the FBI has arrested a former employee of  Florida Hospital Celebration Health for accessing patients’ emergency department  records and selling them to a solicitor for attorneys and chiropractors, WFTV reports (WFTV, 8/17).

Details of Breach

Dale Munroe — who registered ED patients at Celebration Health — allegedly  accessed the files of patients who were treated for injuries resulting from  automobile accidents at multiple hospitals across the state, according  to the FBI investigation (Goedert, Health Data Management, 8/22).

According to the complaint in U.S.A. v. Munroe, Munroe accessed about  763,000 patient records from late 2009 through mid-2011. The complaint stated  that Munroe sold the information to firms that then contacted the  patients and asked if they needed a referral to a lawyer or chiropractor.

Munroe and his wife allegedly were paid approximately $10,000 for information  from the records.

Hospital, Authorities Respond

The hospital fired Munroe in July 2011 after officials discovered that he had  improperly accessed the file of a physician who had been killed.

However, his wife and another hospital employee continued accessing patient  records after Munroe’s firing.

Officials discovered the scheme in August 2011 when a hospital employee  received a solicitation call and reported the issue to the hospital.

The hospital then:

• Fired Munroe’s wife and the other hospital worker,
• Audited access to relevant records; and
• Launched a more extensive audit of access to ED patient data (Walsh, CMIO, 8/23).

The FBI started investigating the incident after the hospital reported the  data breach to HHS’ Office for Civil Rights (Health Data Management,  8/22).

Source: iHealthBeat

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