The head of the Mayo Clinic has fired two employees who violated privacy policies, reports the Post-Bulletin. Mayo's national CEO Dr. John Noseworthy said that a Mayo physician and another staff member were fired for accessing and reviewing a patient's record. In a letter to employees, Noseworthy said the actions of those terminated "violated the sacred trust each of us holds with our patients, and this cannot, and will not, be tolerated." The president of a Minnesota-based healthcare advocacy group speculates that others also may have accessed the patient's record, saying that the development of electronic medical records has enabled greater access.
Full Story