Officials Find Discarded Patient Files at Condemned Hospital
JEANNETTE, Pa. — Federal officials have opened an investigation to determine how patient records and doctors’ personnel files were discarded among the ruins of Monsour Medical Center.
Jeannette city attorney Scott Avolio found the files this week after inspecting parts of the condemned hospital, which closed in 2006 after failing numerous state inspections, the Tribune Review reports. The files contained names, addresses, diagnoses, detailed treatment plans, insurance information, dates of birth and Social Security numbers.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services stated that discarding health information in that manner that is accessible to unauthorized persons is a violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Further, because Monsour Medical Center received federal funding for having medical students, the facility may be in violation of the Federal Education Record and Privacy Act (FERPA).
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