Sanjay Talwani reports:
A woman who went to St. Peter’s Hospital in Helena after an alleged a rape is suing the hospital and a pharmacist, saying they violated her medical privacy.
The woman told authorities last year she was raped by Andrew Stevick back in January 2015.
He’s admitted to criminal endangerment in the case and was sentenced last week to spending 24 hours in jail every month for the next three years.
On the day of the incident, the woman sought care at St. Peter’s Hospital, according to the lawsuit, filed January 6 in District Court in Helena by attorney John Doubek.
The lawsuit says James “Jim” Stevick worked at the hospital and improperly accessed her medical records.
Jim Stevick is a licensed pharmacist; the woman says he’s the father of Andrew Stevick.
Read more on KAJ18.com.
So… if, as she says, she notified everyone of her concerns when she sought medical attention, did St. Peter’s Hospital have a “break the glass” or second layer of protection for her records that they could have/should have deployed? And why should the pharmacist be able to access her – or any other rape victim’s – records, anyway, unless there was a valid reason? Hopefully HHS is looking at whether the hospital had adequate access controls in place.
As to the lawsuit, hospitals generally are not found liable for employee’s unauthorized conduct or conduct that is not part of their assigned duties. But if they were cautioned and negligently failed to protect the patient’s records, then….?