Prime Healthcare Services faces a $95,000 fine for what state officials say is violation of patient confidentiality, the Los Angeles Times reported. In response to reports by California Watch about alleged upcoding, executives from one of the hospitals under the California-based health system emailed the patient records of Darlene Courtois to nearly 800 employees and shared the patient information with two newspapers. Shasta Regional Medical Center CEO Randall Hempling and Chief Medical Officer Marcia McCampbell revealed the full chart to the patient's hometown newspaper, Redding Record Searchlight, as well as medical exam results to the Los Angeles Times.
The California Department of Public Health this month issued a fine of $95,000 for a breach of patient privacy, which Shasta Regional says it plans to appeal, as well as $3,100 for failing to report the breach in a timely manner. Article