New Names From the News

Your Health Care secrets could be sold to the highest bidder.
It seems that in a federal court case called United States of America vs. Lawanda Jackson, Ms. Jackson, while working at the UCLA Medical Center, confessed to taking payments from the publication still known as The National Enquirer in exchange for occasionaly passing confidential patient information gleened from medical records of "celebrities and other high profile patients."
The New York Times' writer Stephanie Clifford stated that "Enquirer reporters cannot pay off medical officials-they might be violating health care privacy laws." On March 8,2010 the Times' article mentioned The National Enquirer had ethics when praising The National Enquirer for its "snoop to bag the scoop". It turns out that Rielle Hunter who was and could still be, John Edwards's mistress was pregnant. The National Enquirer may have nominated itself for a Pulitzer Prize. Lawanda Jackson settled in court for a December 2008 felony charge for having sold medical secrets to the Enquirer from early 2006 through mid-2007, when hospital officials caught her frequently breaking federal health privacy and security laws. For Jackson's alleged $5000, she allegedly sold Farrah Fawcett's cancer treatment details in April of 2007 Jackson perhaps guilt-ridden like a politician named Murtha, died before she could be sentenced. US prosecutor Anthony Montero stated that Lawanda Jackson "to hide her activities...arranged with the National Enquirer that her payments would be in the form of checks to her husband." This could implicate The National Enquirer in conspiracy to violate federal privacy laws. Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles, California, stated that there is an "active, ongoing investigation" into Lawanda Jackson's sale of patient confidential medical information.

Makes one wonder just HOW MANY $9 per hour medical clerks call tabloids to sell confidential patient information! This one netted $5000 at least.