Kaiser uses a system from Epic, and back a few months ago I talked with Memorial Hospital in Long Beach about the privacy features in the system, called “Break the Glass” at their facility and the same may be in place at all installations I might guess. There is no way to keep everything 100% secure in any system, just as the old paper records went too, anyone could come along and pick up information if left laying around. Kaiser is probably getting more attention on the matter due to the fact that they are electronically connected.
Long Beach Memorial Center’s Conversion to Electronic Medical Records – Interview with Dr. James Leo
The only issue I could say here was maybe the reports on who was reading which file was maybe not accessed f
ast enough? They do have the data and an employee outside the care of the patient really has to go some to enter information as to “why” they are accessing this file and those reports are compiled and reviewed in real time if needed. Being connected, access information is more readily available where as a paper hospital with the same issue may not make the news and as a patient you may never know your information was accessed at a paper hospital too. The fines are probably being levied by folks who don’t completely understand any effort of transparency and security and are not up to date on where real technology is today with hospitals and healthcare. I somewhat see this as more of a political gesture and perhaps not seeing the whole story all the way around, as again Kaiser is known for their technology and personal health records efforts, something nobody in the Senate back in January had ever taken 20-30 minutes to look at and had no idea what a personal health record was, so again, it goes back to lack of education at the Congressional level too, and the need for a big “oh my gosh” story on privacy in this issue. I feel none are aware of the real data processes in place and how they work. BD
Why Doesn’t Anyone in Congress or at the AMA Talk about their Healthcare – Do They Use Any New Technology Themselves, like a Glucose Meter or a PHR – Magpie Healthcare?
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced today that Kaiser Permanente Bellflower Hospital in Los Angeles County has been assessed an administrative penalty of $187,500 after a determination that the facility failed to prevent unauthorized access to confidential patient medical information.
This is the second time CDPH has assessed an administrative penalty to this facility under new legislation intended to protect the confidentiality of medical records, said Dr. Mark Horton, director of CDPH. “We are very concerned with violations of patient confidentiality and their potential harm to the residents of California. Medical privacy is a fundamental right and a critical component of quality medical care in California.”
CDPH has determined that the hospital failed to prevent unauthorized access to patients’ medical information, as required by Section 1280.15 of the Health and Safety Code. The hospital compromised the privacy of four patients when eight employees improperly accessed records.
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