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Governor addresses UCLA medical leaks
By Andy Furillo - afurillo@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PDT Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Story appeared in MAIN NEWS section, Page A3
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Monday that his administration is working with UCLA Medical Center to plug confidentiality breaches that have allowed unauthorized personnel to view records of celebrity patients, including his wife, Maria Shriver.
"This kind of practice has been happening all over the state, wherever there's celebrities involved," Schwarzenegger said in response to a reporter's question.
His comments followed a story in the Los Angeles Times, which reported Monday that a UCLA hospital employee viewed electronic patient records on Shriver and 31 other celebrities. Records on celebrities such as Britney Spears and Farrah Fawcett also have been improperly viewed by hospital employees, with the information later appearing in tabloid newspapers, the Times reported.
The governor said his health and human services secretary, Kim Belshé, is working with UCLA officials to get a handle on the problem. Belshé told the Times that the disclosure of confidential information on the celebrities "appears to be a pattern of repeated violations."
Schwarzenegger said he has "been a victim of this" himself in previous hospital visits for heart, hip and shoulder surgery.
"Every single time I've heard, just by the time I was wheeled out of the operation rooms, people were telling me there were … people going through your files that had white coats on … that obviously snuck into the hospital that had nothing to do with the hospital staff at all."
"So those things happen," he said.
Hospitals need to develop procedures to protect patient information "if they're celebrities, if they're business executives, or just ordinary citizens," Schwarzenegger said. "Everyone's file ought to be protected, and everyone's medical history ought to be protected. That is the responsibility of the hospital, and so we're going to go work with them to find a way so that we can help them protect everyone's files."
About the writer:
- Call Andy Furillo, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 321-1141.
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AT A GLANCE
What happened: UCLA Medical Center acknowledged Sunday that unauthorized employees have viewed the confidential medical records of high-profile patients, including first lady Maria Shriver.
What's next: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Monday that his health and human services secretary is working with UCLA to plug the breaches.
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