Albuquerque (NM) - Two University of New Mexico hospital workers have been fired after they posted patient pictures on MySpace. The workers used their cell phone cameras to take close-up pictures of injuries and then posted them to their private MySpace pages for their friends and coworkers to see. So far no charges have been filed and the photos have been deleted from MySpace and from the workers’ cell phones.
University of New Mexico Director of Public affairs, Sam Giammo, told the Associated Press that the photos did not contain the faces of the patients. However, he added that the hospital values patient privacy, saying, “We just won’t tolerate unprofessional actions by any of our staff area and we just won't stand for that.”
Hospital supervisors discovered the page after receiving an anonymous tip. A few other hospital employees have also been disciplined for not telling supervisors about the pictures and the investigation is still ongoing. The hospital, like many others, has a policy banning cell phone camera usage inpatient areas.
The University of New Mexico is treating this as an internal matter and law enforcement officials are not involved at this time.
This isn't the first time hospital workers have been fired for taking pictures of patients. Last year several hospital workers in Oceanside were fired after they took pictures of patients and patient records. The workers also took pictures of patient x-rays without permission. Earlier in the year, UCLA’s neuropsychiatric hospital banned all cell phones and laptops after patient posted pictures of other patients on the Internet.
University of New Mexico Director of Public affairs, Sam Giammo, told the Associated Press that the photos did not contain the faces of the patients. However, he added that the hospital values patient privacy, saying, “We just won’t tolerate unprofessional actions by any of our staff area and we just won't stand for that.”
Hospital supervisors discovered the page after receiving an anonymous tip. A few other hospital employees have also been disciplined for not telling supervisors about the pictures and the investigation is still ongoing. The hospital, like many others, has a policy banning cell phone camera usage inpatient areas.
The University of New Mexico is treating this as an internal matter and law enforcement officials are not involved at this time.
This isn't the first time hospital workers have been fired for taking pictures of patients. Last year several hospital workers in Oceanside were fired after they took pictures of patients and patient records. The workers also took pictures of patient x-rays without permission. Earlier in the year, UCLA’s neuropsychiatric hospital banned all cell phones and laptops after patient posted pictures of other patients on the Internet.