Patti Singer reports on what appears to be a case involving allegations that a former executive and employees of a licensed home care agency took patient information with them to a open a competing agency:
Anyone who is or was affiliated with Angels in Your Home as a client or health care aide can contact the Center for Disabilities Rights, chief executive officer Bruce Darling said Tuesday.
Read more on Democrat & Chronicle. The Center for Disability Rights (CDR) issued a statement on Sunday that included the following allegation:
The former CEO of Angels in Your Home, a local home care agency, left that agency to start another home care agency, All-American. It has been reported that this individual and other former Angels staff took protected, personal information of consumers and attendants without consent. In some cases, they obtained consent from individuals to take their information through misrepresentation and coercion.
Today, CDR issued an even stronger statement that alleged, in part:
Marco Altieri, the former CEO of Angels in Your Home, a licensed homecare agency that is paid through Medicaid to provide services to ensure people with disabilities can live in the community, has used confidential and protected health information from Angels in Your Home to begin operations of a new home care agency, All-American Homecare. Based on public statements, both Angels in Your Home and Mr. Altieri have retained legal counsel in this matter.
“Every party involved in this appalling situation has secured legal representation, except for the individuals whose protected health information has been compromised, misused, or stolen” said CDR’s Director of Advocacy, Stephanie Woodward, “We’re committed to assisting the people who have been impacted the most by this breach – disabled people and their workers.”
According to the Democrat & Chronicle report, a spokesman for the NYS Attorney General’s Office declined comment, and the NYS Department of Health did not respond to a request for comment. Michael Smith, attorney for former Angels in Your Home CEO Marco Altieri, reportedly denied the allegations but declined further comment.
There is no statement on Angels in Your Home’s web site as of the time of this posting. The allegations have also been referred to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under HIPAA.