• 16
  • February
    2012

In many professional relationships, especially doctor-patient and the attorney-client ones, discretion and privacy are top concerns. For both the doctor and the attorney, information relating to a specific case must always be guarded and should only be released through the appropriate channels. Without this discretion, the trust needed between service provider and private citizen cannot be attained. Without trust, it is almost impossible for the doctor to properly treat the patient or for the attorney to advise on the most appropriate legal option.

Even when the breach of trust is accidental or is the result of third-party designs, professionals must always take responsibility in safeguarding confidential information. If responsibility is not taken and the problem not addressed in a timely manner, professional reputations can be tarnished leading to a range of consequences.

St. Jude Medical Center of Fullerton and Mission Hospital of Laguna Beach are two institutions facing just such a choice. With a leak of roughly 21,000 medical records as a result of a "security glitch", both medical organizations are in damage-control mode. While the leak did not contain any items related to Social Security or personal finances, medical information, including patient history and personal profiles, was inadvertently made avaliable for public internet.

According to news sources, the leak occured over the course of a one year period and was only brought to light through the efforts of a legal counsel representing one of the patients affected. This episode shows how important it is to routinely check confidential databases and to implement procedures to secure the flow of private information across office networks. When a breach or leak does occur, the only course of action is to work quickly in minimizing the damage and to address the problem in such a manner that future occurances cannot happen.

Having served our community for more than a quarter century, the Law Offices of Scott Warmuth takes our obligations in the attorney-client relationship very seriously. We believe in trusting our client and having our client trust us. Without this trust, we cannot fulfill our service of providing the best possible legal advise across a spectrum of cases including personal injury, immigration, and elder abuse. If you have any questions regarding our services, please call us directly at (626) 380.9992. Alternatively, you may chose to complete our free online case evaluation form.