A column from the Los Angeles Times today claims the CEO of a Prime hospital in Redding, Calif., showed a patient's chart in its entirety to a newspaper editor without permission — a violation of state and federal patient privacy laws.
Shasta Medical Center CEO Randall Hempling and CMO Marcia McCampbell, MD, reportedly showed Darlene Courtois' medical chart to Silas Lyons, the editor of local newspaper Redding Record Searchlight.
They shared the chart with the intent to dismiss a report from California Watch — a separate investigative news outlet — that said the hospital had billed Medicare for treating Ms. Courtois' kwashiorkor. This form of severe malnutrition is generally seen in famine victims and more than doubled the Medicare reimbursement Shasta would have otherwise received for Ms. Courtois' treatment. Ms. Courtois is reportedly overweight and never knew about the malnutrition diagnosis, according to the report.
The Redding Record considered publishing California Watch's report on the kwashiorkor billing, but first contacted Shasta for a response. That is when Mr. Hempling and Dr. McCampbell reportedly arrived at the newsroom with Ms. Courtois' chart. The Redding Record did not end up publishing the kwashiorkor report.
Ms. Courtois' relative says Shasta never received permission to make the chart public. When Los Angeles Times columnist Michael Hiltzik asked Mr. Hempling whether he had the patient's written authorization to share her chart, Mr. Hempling said he didn't need it. He claimed Ms. Courtois "waived her privacy" when she gave California Watch permission to access her record, according to the report.
Government officials have explicitly stated that under HIPPAA, there is no such thing as a "waiver" for the release of a medical record to the media. Under the law, such disclosures cannot occur without an individual's written authorization, according to the report.
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Shasta Medical Center CEO Randall Hempling and CMO Marcia McCampbell, MD, reportedly showed Darlene Courtois' medical chart to Silas Lyons, the editor of local newspaper Redding Record Searchlight.
They shared the chart with the intent to dismiss a report from California Watch — a separate investigative news outlet — that said the hospital had billed Medicare for treating Ms. Courtois' kwashiorkor. This form of severe malnutrition is generally seen in famine victims and more than doubled the Medicare reimbursement Shasta would have otherwise received for Ms. Courtois' treatment. Ms. Courtois is reportedly overweight and never knew about the malnutrition diagnosis, according to the report.
The Redding Record considered publishing California Watch's report on the kwashiorkor billing, but first contacted Shasta for a response. That is when Mr. Hempling and Dr. McCampbell reportedly arrived at the newsroom with Ms. Courtois' chart. The Redding Record did not end up publishing the kwashiorkor report.
Ms. Courtois' relative says Shasta never received permission to make the chart public. When Los Angeles Times columnist Michael Hiltzik asked Mr. Hempling whether he had the patient's written authorization to share her chart, Mr. Hempling said he didn't need it. He claimed Ms. Courtois "waived her privacy" when she gave California Watch permission to access her record, according to the report.
Government officials have explicitly stated that under HIPPAA, there is no such thing as a "waiver" for the release of a medical record to the media. Under the law, such disclosures cannot occur without an individual's written authorization, according to the report.
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