Enloe protests $130,000 fine

The California Department of Public Health has fined Enloe Medical Center $130,000 for a breach of protected health information that Enloe self-reported in July 2009. According to the CDPH, the medical records of one “high-profile admission” were inappropriately accessed in seven separate instances. The local hospital is one of six in the state to get fines for similar breaches.

Enloe plans to protest on the grounds that it mitigated the breach upon discovery, and continues to safeguard patient privacy, according to a hospital press release.

“Enloe Medical Center goes above and beyond the requirements of the law to protect patient privacy, which is the reason we were able to detect the breach,” said Mike Wiltermood, Enloe’s chief executive officer. Wiltermood (pictured) further stated Enloe’s early detection of the breach along with long-standing safeguards and privacy processes were not taken into consideration when the penalty was levied. “We are concerned that the manner in which CDPH is levying the fines could do more to discourage reporting of breaches rather than to truly strengthen patient privacy.”