N.H. Hospital Must Release Patient Records in Hepatitis C Case
CONCORD, N.H. — A judge on Oct. 31 ordered Exeter Hospital to grant public health officials broad access to patient records, in the wake of a hepatitis C outbreak at the facility.
Hospital officials had argued that the Department of Health and Human Services’ (DHHS) request for patient records violated privacy laws, reports nhpr.org. However, Superior Court Judge Richard McNamara disagreed, citing that the law “explicitly bestows the responsibility of conducting outbreak investigations while simultaneously protecting certain health information to the trained professionals of the DHHS,” Fosters.com reports.
Former hospital employee, David Kwiatkowski, has been charged with stealing drugs from Exeter’s cardiac catheterization unit. He replaced them with tainted syringes, which were later used on patients. Hospital personnel discovered that 32 patients have the strain of hepatitis C that Kwiakowski carries.
Related Articles:
- Gaps In Hospital Security Policies Put Patient Data At Risk
- How the HITECH Act May Affect Your Healthcare Facility
- Data Breaches Cost Hospitals $6 Billion Per Year
- Trend Alert: Dept. of Health More Aggressively Enforcing HIPAA
- Sharing Critical Data at Critical Moments
If you enjoyed this article and want to receive more valuable industry content like this, click here to sign up for our FREE digital newsletters!
Related Content
Leading in Turbulent Times: Effective Campus Public Safety Leadership for the 21st Century
This new webcast will discuss how campus public safety leaders can effectively incorporate Clery Act, Title IX, customer service, “helicopter” parents, emergency notification, town-gown relationships, brand management, Greek Life, student recruitment, faculty, and more into their roles and develop the necessary skills to successfully lead their departments. Register today to attend this free webcast!
