More UCLA Workers, Including Doctors, Accused of Snooping

1:28 PM EDT, May 14, 2008

LOS ANGELES -- California health regulators have connected 14 more people affiliated with UCLA Medical Center, including four physicians, to the improper viewing of celebrity medical records, it was reported Tuesday.

The latest evidence brings the number of current and former workers apparently implicated in the snooping scandal to 68.

The additional violations came to light in a report by the California Department of Public Health, which was sent to the hospital Friday. The findings are the latest to stem from news reports about UCLA employees' prying into records of celebrities and co-workers. The regulators faulted UCLA for failure to maintain patient confidentiality and report the breaches to regulators.

The key findings reportedly relate to the activities of a longtime administrative specialist who allegedly pried into the medical records of 61 patients, including celebrities and co-workers.

According to the new report, the administrator reviewed the records of actress Farrah Fawcett on 104 days between July 1, 2006, and May 21, 2007.

She is also accused of looking at the records of pop star Britney Spears, whose medical files have reportedly been viewed inappropriately by dozens of other UCLA workers.

The administrator, a 49-year-old woman, was indicted by a federal grand jury last month for allegedly selling information to the news media from medical records of celebrity patients. If convicted, she faces up to 10 years in prison.