Mid-Atlantic Health Law TOPICS
Keep It Confidential
In 1996, a patient, Jane Doe, was treated at an upstate New York medical facility. A medical records clerk, Christen Adey, who was employed at the facility, read Doe's file. Coincidentally, Adey's sister and Doe worked for the same employer, and during a subsequent party attended by Doe's co-workers, Adey allegedly disclosed that Doe had sought treatment for the break-up of a same sex relationship.
Thereafter, Doe sued, and on appeal, in Doe v. Community Health Plan, a New York intermediate appeals court recently held that the facility had a duty not to disclose confidential information, and that the facility was responsible for the acts of its employees, even when the alleged disclosure obviously occurred outside the scope of the clerk's employment.
The simple moral of this story is that medical employers should continually reinforce to their employees how important it is to keep confidences confidential, and that even diligent employers will still in all likelihood remain liable for the actions of their rogue employees.
Lynn S. Slawson
(410) 576-4116 • lslawson@gfrlaw.com