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back to article NJ hospital suspends 27 over Clooney record snoop

A New Jersey Hospital has suspended more than two dozen workers suspected of accessing the medical records of George Clooney. The Palisades Medical Centre took the action after the former ER star was taken to the hospital following a motorcycle accident last month. Clooney sustained a broken rib along with cuts and bruises …

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  1. Karl Lattimer
    Alert

    Paradoxical

    "This [reprimand] didn't happen because of the notoriety of the patient"

    The truth is, the reprimand did happen because of the notoriety of the patient, because without the notoriety the information wouldn't have been leaked to the press, and therefore nobody would have been suspected of leaking it, therefore been reprimanded.

    Any other instance of snooping wouldn't have led to the investigation as there would have been no suspicion, therefore no notoriety means no reprimand.

    To put it another way, they have absolutely no idea who is snooping into what they shouldn't unless the press get wind of something and the hospital must then be held accountable, or hold someone else accountable.

    What a lovely logical paradox for a Tuesday afternoon.

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  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Yo Karl!

    Compliance with HIPAA (the US regulation covering patient confidentiality) obviously varies between medical centers, but these breaches are not only discovered when stuff hits the press. A well designed program includes random and not so random, audits of access to medical records.

    These employees got off lightly, where I work they would have been fired not suspended.

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  3. Graham Marsden

    Hmm...

    Perhaps someone should point this story out to the UK Government who seem to think that thousands of NHS staff can be trusted with access to all *our* medical information...

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  4. Mcbain

    UK Government

    Much like borrowing a book from a library every reader of your medical file is known and recorded, I'm not worried.

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  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    @Graham Marsden

    Don't forget the thousands of people in India, who's first language is unlikely to be english, who will be transcribing the paper records, written in classical doctors handwriting, into the new computer system.

    I'm sure all of these people working for less than the uk's minimum wage will per perfectly fine handling our medical data and will, in no way, be tempted to sell the data to anyone who fancies it.

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