George Floyd's family says HCMC staff committed HIPAA violation

George Floyd memorial
Photo credit Mark Freie/Entercom

The family of George Floyd says Hennepin Healthcare staff improperly viewed Floyd's medical records after his death.

It's unclear what information was accessed, however Floyd's family and legal team were notified via a Hennepin Healthcare letter about the data breach. According to that letter, the data breach happened over multiple dates and an undisclosed number of employees involved are no longer with the company.

It's unclear whether those employees quit voluntarily, or if they were fired.

According to a statement from Hennepin Healthcare obtained by WCCO Television:

It is the practice of the Hennepin Healthcare Information Privacy Department to conduct privacy access audits. Access to the Hennepin Healthcare electronic medical record by our workforce is tracked and logged, which supports our auditing efforts. Any breach of patient confidentiality is taken seriously and thoroughly investigated. If it is determined that a violation has occurred, disciplinary action up to and including termination can be used.  Additionally, Hennepin Healthcare complies with federal information privacy regulations which require notification to patients about a confirmed privacy breach. To maintain patient confidentiality, we do not comment on specific cases.

Dr. David Hilden at HCMC didn't comment specifically on the Floyd situation, but told WCCO Radio's Dave Lee on Thursday morning that security around patient records has and always will be a top priority.

"The systems do tend to work so if anybody does anything they shouldn't be doing, the systems tends to find those folks," Dr. Hilden said. "Healthcare workers are authorized to access charts for which they have a legitimate need to. If you do that oustide that legitimate need the consquences can be severe to that worker. As it should be."

Floyd family attorney Antonio Romanucci says the family is considering legal action against HCMC. Romanucci also said it's unclear what information the employees accessed.

Floyd, a Black man, died on May 25 outside Cup Foods at 38th and Chicago in south Minneapolis as a former Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck for more than seven minutes.

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