Northwestern Medicine Sued Over Medical Information Disclosure on Twitter
Northwestern Medicine Regional Medical Group is being sued by a patient whose sensitive medial information was disclosed on Twitter and Facebook.
Gina Graziano discovered some of her sensitive medical information had been disclosed on social media websites and contacted Northwestern Medicine to complain about the privacy investigation.
Northwestern Medicine investigated the complaint and determined that Graziano’s medical records had been accessed on two separate occasions by a hospital employee who had no treatment relationship with Graziano. The records were accessed on March 5 and 6, 2019, using an employee’s login credentials.
Graziano’s medical file contained a range of sensitive information, including her personal details, the reason for a recent visit to the emergency department, lab test results, medications, medical history, imaging results, and other information.
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Sensitive information which Graziano did not want to be placed in the public domain was disseminated on social media sites causing her to be publicly humiliated. While Northwestern Medicine did not disclose the name of the employee in the letter sent in response to her complaint, Graziano learned that the individual was Jessica Wagner, the current girlfriend of her ex-boyfriend David Wirth. Both individuals have also been named in the legal action.
In her lawsuit, Wagner is alleged to have accessed Graziano’s medical records for a period of 37 minutes, then impermissibly disclosed some of her medical information to Wagner, who then posted the information on social media sites with intent to cause Graziano harm.
Northwestern Medicine has confirmed that appropriate disciplinary action has been taken against the employee over the HIPAA violation and the Department of Health and Human Services has been notified of the HIPAA breach. It is unclear whether criminal charges have been filed against Wagner. CBS Chicago reports that Wagner was fired over the HIPAA violation.
Northwestern Medicine has issued an apology and has offered Graziano 12 months of credit monitoring services as a precaution against identity theft and fraud.
