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Sharp Grossmont Hospital used hidden cameras in their women's health center, ostensibly due to concerns of potential theft of an anesthesia drug by employees. But the cameras also recorded video of countless patients undergoing examinations and medical procedures. The hospital is now facing a lawsuit filed by 81 women who claim to have been secretly recorded.
In 2016, the situation was exposed in a public letter written by Dr. Patrick Sullivan, who stated that he had discovered the cameras originally in 2013 and raised objections. After medical staff began to cover the cameras with tape, they were eventually removed. However, in 2016 he discovered more hidden cameras. Afterward, Dr. Sullivan claimed to have been the target of retaliation for his whistleblowing, which became the subject of a 2017 lawsuit.
The video recordings were allegedly stored on hospital computers and reviewed by a male security employee.
https://www.rt.com/usa/455248-hospital-secret-film-women-operation/
Also at 10News San Diego.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday April 02 2019, @02:34AM (5 children)
It's not so much "guys" doing this, as bean counters. The kind of people who sweat bullets over the loss of a penny here, and a nickle there can justify almost anything if they can cut "losses". The people who dreamt this up may or may not be turned on by naked female bodies. They are most definitely turned on by saving those pennies though. It may even be females on the staff who came up with the idea, and/or pushed the idea. Well, like I said, not "females", so much as bean counters.
Funny that the bean counters couldn't see ahead to potential liability. Maybe they should have had an ironclad procedure for reviewing, then deleting all this video? Nahhh, that would be a waste. Gotta save every penny!
Where the "guys" come in, is after the fact, when they learn about all this video of naked female bodies, and gain access to the video.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Mykl on Tuesday April 02 2019, @02:48AM
I very much doubt that titillation ever factored into the decision to install these cameras. This was just a bunch of dumb people not considering the side effects / consequences of their decisions.
It's also a really dumb way to check for theft under these conditions. Much easier and cheaper to do a stock check at the end of a surgery / consult and confirm that any missing drugs were in fact used during the procedure (with empty containers present to account for it). This could be done by someone independent of the surgery / consult at very low cost.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 02 2019, @03:19AM (1 child)
This isn't about the cost, it's about the drugs. Hospitals can get in a shit ton of trouble if drugs are missing. They worry about the drugs being sold on the black market (which is bad) or addicted employees (which is worse).
The big question that doesn't seem to get asked while these poor decisions are being made is "what happens when people find out?" Of course the naive response is always some version of "who is, or how is someone, going to find out?" Well, dumbasses, if you intend to use the hidden camera video as evidence then everybody is going to find out. If you don't plan on using the video for evidence then why are you doing it?
(Score: 4, Insightful) by urza9814 on Tuesday April 02 2019, @06:24PM
They'll use the solution already pioneered by our government officials -- parallel construction.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 02 2019, @06:19AM
Bean counters follow the sub-human science of economics rather than the human sub-science of catallactics. That is the problem.
(Score: 4, Informative) by goodie on Wednesday April 03 2019, @01:37AM
My management accounting in undergrad was a great prof (yet I hate the subject) who would always remind us that while bean counters are out there locking up office supplies closets because of "rampant theft", the CEOs are flying private jets for a "seminar" in Barbados with hookers and blow :D