For Sharp Grossmont Hospital in La Mesa, Calif., looking into one serious problem caused another.
After realizing that someone was taking drugs from surgery carts, the hospital mounted small cameras inside of computer monitors attached to mobile anesthesia machines in operating rooms, according to inewsource. Upon reviewing the tape, the hospital found they had accidentally filmed women undergoing surgery without their permission. The filming, which took place between February 2013 and June 2013, caught one physician in the act, pocketing a vial of anesthetics.
The accused physician's attorney told inewsource that his client was removing anesthesia from the carts to use on patients, as other clinicians would, and that the video evidence should reflect that.
The attorney is also arguing the secret surveillance measures violated the privacy of hundreds of Sharp Grossmont patients. Court documents reflect the video captured patients in vulnerable states while they were undergoing medical procedures, inewsource reported.
The hospital has opposed releasing the video evidence for the sake of patient privacy, and a hearing on the action against the physician's license is slated for October, according to inewsource.