By KENNETH HART
ASHLAND — King’s Daughters Medical Center is warning patients of its Breast Care Center to beware of a possible telephone scam targeting them.
The hospital also is seeking to reassure patients it would never release their confidential medical information to organizations that would use it to solicit funds.
According to KDMC spokeswoman Julie Terry, several women who have recently had exams at the Breast Care Center have reported receiving phone calls from individuals purporting to raise money for breast cancer research.
In each case, Terry said, the solicitors have told the patients they thought they might be amenable to donating money to that cause because they recently had mammograms themselves.
Terry said the hospital doesn’t believe the solicitors had any actual knowledge the women had recently had breast exams. More likely, she said, it was a “phishing” scam that involved calling large numbers of women at random.
One thing for certain, Terry said, is that the information didn’t come from KDMC.
“Patient confidentiality is sacrosanct to us,” she said. “There is no way we would ever release patient information for any reason.”
Under the privacy provisions of the Health Insurance Portability Act, or HIPA, it would be illegal for KDMC or any other medical institution to release patient information to telemarketers, Terry said.
One of the intended victims was able to capture the solicitor’s number on her caller ID. It was for a phone in Chattanooga, Tenn., Terry said.
She also said Doretha Pridemore, manager of the Breast Care Center, had reported the incidents to the Ashland Police Department.
KENNETH HART can be reached at khart@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2654.
