Hospital District Employees Fired for Violation

HOUSTON - A major breach in patient privacy at the Harris County Hospital District has caused 16 employees to lose their jobs.

Melinda Muse, a hospital district spokeswoman, says the employees were fired because of HIPAA violations. HIPAA, as it is commonly referred to, is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act that was enacted in 1996. It protects the privacy of patients' health records, allowing access only to those specifically authorized.

HCHD says it will not confirm specific details on the privacy breach, but it released the following statement:

"The Harris County Hospital District, in all circumstances, is guided by the best interests of our patients, especially in matters of patient's protected health information, and our policies that protect our patients privacy are always vigorously enforced. Actions by the hospital district were the result of steadfast diligence performed in the best interests of our patients."

The hospital district has not specified the patient or patients affected by the privacy violation.