FAME & CLIENT

CONFIDENTIA

LITY

TRAINING

Q U E E N MI L

L E R

INTRODUCTIONUCLA Health System is in the heart of the entertainment

capital of the world. As such, we can expect that a percentage of our clientele

are likely to be engaged with the entertainment industry, and some may be famous to varying degrees.

Celebrities deserve the same high-quality care that all other clients receive—this includes the right to confidentiality.

While it may be tempting to utilize your professional records access to pry into the records of famous people that you know about, this presentation will demonstrate why you should restrain such urges.

REASONS TO RESPECT CELEBRITY-CLIENT CONFIDENTIALITY1. The law requires you to do so. 2. Respecting confidentiality is crucial to providing

excellent customer service and fulfilling your job duties competently.

3. Medical-related information leaks can cause professional harm to celebrity clients.

4. Pursuant to #3, if said harm is found to be of material consequence, you will be held legally liable.

5. You will get caught. 6. You will lose your job.

REASON #: THE LAWThe Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act

of 1996—also known as HIPAA—contains a Privacy Rule that requires all “individually identifiable health information” to be kept confidential.

Violating the confidentiality of clients through the UCLA electronic health record system also violates the HIPAA Security Rule, which pertains to the security standards of EHR systems.

Violations of HIPAA can result in large fines for the institution (as they have in the past) and the loss of your ability to practice your profession.

REASON #2: C

USTOMER

SERVICE

( A N D PR O F E S S I O

N A L CO M P E T E N C E )

CELEBRITIES DEAL WITH THE LIMELIGHT 24/7

REASON #2: CUSTOMER SERVICEWhen a celebrity comes in for medical care, s/he

deserves a “moment of respite” from the public eye. Many people find medical appointments to be stressful,

particularly when they suspect that they may have an illness that needs treatment.

Competent medical care addresses the patient’s comfort, as well as particular diagnoses and physiological needs.

Celebrity clients of UCLA deserve to know that they will receive the best care, and that their private medical information will be protected.

Some celebrities build their careers by portraying fictional characters that conflict with who they are in their personal lives.

REASON #3: POTENTIAL PROFESSIONAL HARM

REASON #3: POTENTIAL PROFESSIONAL HARMRock Hudson (depicted in previous slide) famously

portrayed the “ideal American masculine male” figure throughout his career.

The world was shocked when Hudson died of AIDS, and it was revealed that he had lived a secret homosexual life behind the silver screen.

In a way, Hudson was fortunate that the scandal surrounding his sexual identity did not break until the end of his life, when his “hey day” was well over.

But imagine the harm that a comparable medical-related information leak could have had on his career.

REASON #3: A CONTEMPORARY EXAMPLETo relate the example to the contemporary context, let’s

say that a male actor builds his career primarily on “family-themed” movies and television shows.

However, in his private life, this actor happens to find it difficult to stick to one wife/girlfriend.

One day, he contracts herpes and needs medical care. Should his diagnosis leak, his image would be tarnished,

and some parents would refuse to allow his movies into their homes & lives as a result.

Furthermore, this leak could cause psychological harm to young fans who look up to the image he portrays.

IT IS NOT OUR PLACE TO JUDGE OUR CLIENTS, THEIR LIFESTYLE CHOICES, OR THE WAYS IN WHICH THESE CHOICES CONFLICT WITH THEIR PUBLIC IMAGES.

IT IS ONLY OUR PLACE TO PROVIDE THEM WITH EXCELLENT, ETHICALLY CENTERED MEDICAL CARE.

REASON #4: LEGAL LIABILITYSince UCLA’s 2008 scandal regarding protected

information viewing, our corrective program has been under tight scrutiny from…everyone.

Our current confidentiality training program has been vetted, and we document that all employees receive it. You will sign a document denoting that you received this training.

UCLA will not protect or back any employees found to have viewed or distributed protected healthcare information.

We will, however, ensure your right to a fair hearing without our own investigative procedures.

IN ALL REALITY, UCLA WOULD BE NAMED AS A CO-DEFENDANT NO MATTER WHAT, SHOULD ANOTHER SIMILAR INCIDENT OCCUR AND THE CELEBRITY(IES) IN QUESTION ELECT TO SUE.

BUT REST ASSURED THAT WE WOULD DO EVERYTHING IN OUR POWER TO DEMONSTRATE OUR COMPLIANCE WITH TRAINING REQUIREMENTS AND “PIN” THE INCIDENT ON THE INDIVIDUALS FOUND RESPONSIBLE.

REASON #5: YO

U WILL

GET CAUGHT!!

!

NOT TO BE CREEPY, BUT…

We’re watchi

ngyou.

REASON #5: YOU WILL GET CAUGHTWays in which we’re watching you:

-- You log in with your user ID when you use our system

-- We have cameras everywhere

-- Even if you use an open screen without logging in, your employee badge has a tracking chip, which means we can tell when you were standing at any given computer station

REASON #6…

After our internal investigation, if we find clear and convincing evidence that you have violated any client’s confidentiality, your employment with UCLA will be permanently and irrevocably terminated.

Any future prospective employers who call us regarding your job performance will be notified of your activities.

ANY QUESTIONS?

REFERENCES: Associated Press. (2008). Report: Over 120 UCLA

hospital staff saw celebrity health records. Fox News Online. http://www.foxnews.com/story/2008/08/06/report-over-120-ucla-hospital-staff-saw-celebrity-health-records.html

UCLA Health. (2015). Photo ID and live scan. https://www.uclahealth.org/Security-and-Parking/Pages/photo-id-live-scan.aspx

US Dept. of Health and Human Services. Health Information privacy. http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/