Tewksbury Hospital clerk snooped in patient records

A clerk at the state-run Tewksbury Hospital inappropriately viewed the electronic medical records of 1,100 patients from 2003 to 2017, the Department of Public Health revealed Friday.

The clerk, who no longer works at the hospital, had access to records as part of her job but snooped into patient files she was not supposed to see, according to Tom Lyons, health department spokesman.

There is no evidence that the information she viewed was misused or ever left the hospital, Lyons said.

The privacy breach came to light in April after a former patient complained, Lyons said. He declined to provide details on how the patient found out and said he did not know why the clerk read the records.


Source: bostonglobe.com