Former Hospital Employee Gave National Enquirer Celebrity Medical Records

Lawanda Jackson, 49 pleaded guilty to the felony charge of violating federal medical privacy laws for commercial purposes. She sold the medical records of Farrah Fawcett, Britney Spears and Maria Shriver to the National Enquirer. Jackson could get up to 10 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine for being a paid snitch when she is sentenced in May.

A UCLA employee for 32 years, Jackson gained inappropriate access to the confidential medical files while a supervisor. Beginning in 2006, a total of $4,600 was deposited in her husband’s checking account, all coming from the National Enquirer. The hospital didn’t get a chance to fire Jackson in 2007 because she resigned. As a hospital supervisor Jackson has admitted to disclosing the records of Spears, Fawcett and California first lady Maria Shriver. She and her attorney declined comment after the court hearing. Read: Celebrity Patients Need Privacy Too >>

An attorney for Farrah Fawcett, Kim Swartz commented in April on the National Enquirer story. The tabloid reported details about her client’s cancer diagnosis that contained treatment details that only someone close to Fawcett’s medical records could have known.

The privacy breaches are a concern of Thom Mrozek, the spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s office. Charges haven’t been filed against the National Enquirer, but questions are being addressed concerning the role of the media in accessing private records. Don't Miss: Patient Data Sharing For Clinical Trials And The Risk of Loss

"Certainly there is possible culpability at media outlets if we can determine that they were knowingly paying for the illegal access of celebrity files," Mrozek said.

Attorneys for the National Enquirer have not responded to requests for comments on this issue.

Back in April the Los Angeles Times uncovered information about UCLA employees who had accessed inappropriately the medical records of well known patients. At that time, the state launched six public health investigation reports finding that a total of 1,041 patient records had been breached since 2003. Medical employees ranging from doctors to orderlies, 165 all total, were either fired, suspended, or disciplined for snooping in medical records.

UCLA Health Systems said they will continue to cooperate with the authorities in the patient privacy investigations. Another former UCLA Health Systems employee Huping Zhou was indicted in November on suspicion of inappropriate access of 71 celebrity medical records, but hasn’t been accused of selling any information to the tabloids.