A former Iowa-based hospital occupational therapist was sentenced Sept. 9 to 14 months in federal prison for inappropriately accessing health records of at least 1,900 patients, The Courier reports.
Samantha Jo Rogers, 33, worked as an occupational therapist at Mercy Medical Center North Iowa in Mason from 2013-18, according to Globe Gazette. From 2017-18, Ms. Rogers illegally accessed Mercy patients' private health and address information and traveled to some of the residences to obtain the individuals' unused pain medication under the pretense that she was a public health worker, The Courier reports.
Ms. Rogers was also employed at various therapy companies in Iowa, including Waverly-based Northern Iowa Therapy, where she also inappropriately viewed patients' health information around 1,500 times, according to the report. In January 2018, Ms. Rogers used the medical records information to burglarize at least two elderly patients' homes and attempt to steal prescription painkillers.
Ms. Rogers pleaded guilty March 11 to one count of acquiring and attempting to acquire a controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud, deception and subterfuge, one count of wrongfully obtaining individually identifiable health information under false pretenses with the intent to use for personal gain and one count of false statements relating to healthcare matters, according to the report.