Confidential Medical Records intruded at UCLA

An employee at the UCLA Medical Center has been accused of accessing medical records of more than 30 high profile patients including California first lady Maria Shriver and '70s TV icon Farrah Fawcett.

"Patients' medical records should be private -- period," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said in a statement. "No one should have to worry that an unauthorized person is reviewing their private medical records."

The security violations invite embarrassment for one of the nation's finest medical centers. The UCLA employee allegedly looked into the information on noncelebrity patients as well, accessing 61 patients' records without permission in 2006 and 2007, state and hospital officials said.

According to the UCLA, the employee in question was terminated immediately after he faults were exposed last May. No details regarding her name and title were provided by hospital officials but they said she was not working in direct patient care. Employees in such departments as billing and admitting also have access to medical record systems.

"We are very concerned by what appears to be a pattern of repeated violations," said Kim Belshé, secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency.

"It's not a question of will we take action," she added. "It's determining what level of action to take."

Dr. David Feinberg, chief executive of the UCLA Hospital System, apologized for the breaches while giving an interview on Sunday. He described the employee who snooped as ‘rogue.’

"This person should not have been looking at those records," he said.

A review of the employee's e-mails and phone calls revealed that confidential medical information was not shared inappropriately in any form.