Becker's ASC Review

54 GI/ENDOSCOPY Data breach at New York ASC possibly exposes 135k patient records — 4 insights By Eric Oliver A n unauthorized third party possibly gained ac- cess to approximately 135,000 patient records at Albany, N.Y.-based St. Peter's Surgery & Endoscopy Center Jan. 8., the Timesunion reports. Here's what you should know. 1. In a statement, the center stated there was no evidence showing patient information was accessed or used in any- way, but the center is "unable to definitively rule that out." 2. The potentially malware-compromised server con- tained personal patient information, including dates of service, diagnosis codes, procedure codes, insurance information and in some instances, Medicare informa- tion. There was no banking or credit card information on the server. Social Security numbers for patients without Medicare were not accessed. 3. The incident only impacted St. Peter's Surgery & Endoscopy Center and none of any affiliated practices including St. Peter's Hospital and Albany Gastroenterol- ogy Consultants. 4. The surgery center mailed letters to affected patients Feb. 28. While there was no indication data was accessed, the center recommended patients monitor statements from their insurer. For Medicare patients, the surgery cen- ter is offering a year of free credit monitoring. The center said, "We are committed to providing our patients with the assistance they need to protect themselves moving forward. We are reaching out to provide information and guidance to individuals with information that was contained on the servers in question and offering complimentary credit monitor- ing and identity theft protection services to patients whose Medicare information was contained on the servers. We are also posting additional information on our website and set up a dedicated call center for patients to ask questions." n Medical Board of California accuses gastroenterologist of gross negligence — 10 insights By Eric Oliver T he Medical Board of California ac- cused gastroenterologist Parminder Singh Dhaliwal, MD, of alleged gross negligence, OC Weekly reports. Here's what you should know. 1. Dr. Dhaliwal is a gastroenterologist at Newport Beach, Calif.-based Hoag Hospital. e board alleged Dr. Dhaliwal repeatedly performed negligent acts, failed to maintain accurate records and violated the medical practice act when treating a 73-year-old, now deceased, man. 2. Dr. Dhaliwal first saw the patient in April 2011. e man was taking three separate drugs to treat diabetes and coronary artery disease. Dr. Dhaliwal had the man undergo laboratory studies, an upper endoscopy, a colonoscopy and an abdomen scan. 3. A lesion was apparent in the upper part of the man's liver. Additional testing was recommended. e lesion wasn't found in a follow-up ultrasound, so an MRI was recom- mended to get a closer look. Dr. Dhaliwal allegedly did not order any additional imag- ing, nor did he follow up on the lesion or any abnormal liver radiographic findings. 5. Dr. Dhaliwal did conduct an upper endoscopy a few days later, but allegedly misidentified the patient as a 73-year-old female in his notes. 6. A pathology report noted the patient had either an infection or stomach ulcers. e pathology report asked Dr. Dhaliwal to advise the patient to schedule a follow-up. Allegedly, Dr. Dhaliwal did not schedule a follow-up, nor did he adjust any of the man's medications, despite a risk of peptic ulcer disease-related bleeding or other complications. 6. e man was admitted to the hospital by another physician in October 2011. e lesion on his liver was allegedly "significantly larger." e new physician scheduled imag- ing treatment, unaware that imaging had recently been done. 7. e patient returned to Dr. Dhaliwal in late October 2011. Dr. Dhaliwal allegedly noted the liver lesion, but neither evaluated it nor attempted to treat it. Between October 2011 and August 2012, Dr. Dhaliwal alleg- edly made no mention of the liver lesion in any of his notes. 8. e patient was hospitalized due to liver pain in August 2012. Dr. Dhaliwal consulted on the case. He attributed the pain to bloat- ing, while noting an imaging scan found a mass on the patient's liver. Allegedly, his phy- sician's note ended with, "Overall the patient has a poor prognosis." 9. e patient died October 2012 of liver cancer. Physicians said the mass was too large to properly remove. 10. e board submitted the allegations and is considering future disciplinary action against Dr. Dhaliwal, including revoking his medical license. n

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