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Breach of Britney Spears patient data highlights health care security shortfalls

www.scmagazineus.com

Reports this week that the UCLA Medical Center has moved to fire 13 employees and suspended six others for unauthorized access to confidential medical records of pop star Britney Spears is a sign that training and regulations may not be working in some hospitals, experts told SCMagazineUS.com.

Spears was admitted to the UCLA Medical in January under Section 5150 of California's Welfare and Institutions Code, which allows hospitals to hold patients against their will for up to 72 hours for evaluation if they are considered a danger to themselves or others. UCLA Medical Center extended her hold until she was released on Feb. 6.

"I'm a privacy advocate so it's hard to understand how one's own training could be ignored in order to gain access to a celebrity's medical records," Beth Givens, founder and director of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, told SCMagazineUS.com. "It's hard for me to comprehend -- apparently stardom is such a strong magnet that some employees will simply ignore penalties and sanctions and access medical records without authorization."

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