UPMC Bedford hospital staff took photos of patient with item in genitals
The state Department of Health has cited a UPMC hospital in Bedford where staff used phones to photograph and film a patient being treated for a genital injury.
The incident prompted UPMC Bedford Memorial hospital to suspend two doctors and replace its nursing director for surgical services.
UPMC officials on Thursday said the behavior was “abhorrent and violates the mission of UPMC Bedford and the overall values of UPMC.”
Pennlive.com reported that an employee came forward to complain about the images of a foreign object lodged in a patient's genitals circulating around the hospital. Another employee told investigators there were so many people crammed into an operating room taking photos on Dec. 23 that it was “like a cheerleader-type pyramid.”
One hospital employee told investigators, “I was doing a tendon repair, when someone, I don't remember who, one of the OR staff, came into the room and said that there was a patient in the ER with a genital injury. I thought, ‘how does this happen?' I couldn't imagine how the patient did it,” regarding the injury.
That same employee admitted to taking photos and sharing them with a spouse.
“I did not have a purpose to be in there,” the unidentified employee said. “It was sheer curiosity.”
According to a 119-page health department report, “The patient had a genital injury and OR staff had apparently taken photos and video of the patient using their personal cell phones, and were showing the photos to other hospital staff.”
The report did not disclose details of the injury.
An employee told investigators a doctor requested a photo be taken with an operating room camera for future medical lectures, but the camera was broken, according to the report.
“So personal phones were used,” the report said. “Initially, we thought there was only one picture taken but later we learned of others. We also had the camera checked out, it is working, it is just too complicated to use.”
The report said the camera was never broken.
“The existing camera in the operating room was examined after this event and found to work correctly,” the Health Department wrote. “Staff were educated by the clinical coordinator of the operating room regarding correct operation of the camera.”
The health department cited UPMC Bedford for several violations, including failing to protect the patient's confidentiality and privacy and for allowing people not involved in the patient's care into the operating room.
Additionally, the hospital suspended one unnamed doctor for seven days and another for 28 days.
In a statement, UPMC said: “Upon discovery, UPMC quickly self-reported the incident to the Pennsylvania Department of Health and took appropriate disciplinary action with the individuals involved. The Department of Health has approved our plan of correction. We have also alerted the affected patient. Since this is an ongoing investigation, we are not at liberty to comment further at this time.”
The report was issued after an investigation from May 23 to June 9. The disciplined doctors and employees are not named in the report.
Besides the suspensions, the health department mandated that the hospital's surgical staff attend a meeting on privacy and confidentiality. The report did not mention any fines against the hospital or UPMC.
In an investigation, the news agency ProPublica has examined in detail the issue of medical employees taking and sharing compromising photographs of patients.
The Bedford County District Attorney's office did not immediately return a call regarding whether the incident led to any criminal investigation. Bedford is about 110 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.
UPMC Bedford Memorial has 49 beds and became affiliated with UPMC in 1998, officials said.
The Associated Press contributed. Reach him at 412-320-7991, bschmitt@tribweb.com or via Twitter at @Bencschmitt.
