Hospital Worker Indicted For Selling Patient Info

An Ex-UCLA Hospital worker was indicted on charges for allegedly accessing and selling health records of dozens of high-profile patients. This comes as a severe breech in patient privacy involving at least 61 patients at the University of California Los Angeles’ hospitals including figures: singer Britney Spears, California first lady Maria Shriver, and actress Farrah Fawcett.
The indictment accuses Jackson, age 49, of illegally obtaining health information for commercial gain through business with a media outlet. Jackson is said to have received at least $4,500 from the unidentified buyer; who paid Jackson by writing checks to her husband.
Jackson claims, however, that she was “just being nosy” and that “it wasn’t for money”. She stated that she made a “mistake” but denied being paid for or giving out any of the information. In March, the hospital had planned to fire several employees, including Jackson, for snooping into Britney Spears’ records.
Mrs. Jackson could face up to 10 years if convicted.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080430/ap_on_re_us/medical_records_breach