Kentucky doctor sanctioned for improperly looking at files of women he might want to date
.jpg "A Kentucky doctor improperly violated privacy rules by accessing confidential patient files on women he might want to date. ThinkstockPhotos")
Regulators placed the license of a Kentucky doctor on probation for improperly accessing medical records of women he might be interested in dating.
The Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure (KBML) released the order against Dr. Quang L. Nguyen this week.
The case against Nguyen started with a grievance from Dr. JoAnn Phillips Wood of Deaconess Hospital in Evansville, Ind., where Nguyen practiced, according to the KBML order.
The grievance said that on July 28, two reports were generated in the hospital’s computer system “indicating suspicious activity” by Nguyen, according to the KBML order.
One report indicated Nguyen had accessed mental-health records.
The hospital found other instances of access to medical records between July 15 and July 28 that couldn’t be explained, the order said.
Wood told an investigator Nguyen accessed charts on a total of eight people who were not his patients.
Nguyen said he looked at the charts of people he was interested in dating, Wood told the investigator.
The hospital suspended Nguyen.
In his response to the KBML, Nguyen acknowledged accessing records of people who were not his patients, but he said he said he didn’t recall looking at as many records as the hospital alleged.
Nguyen said all the instances related to women he was “potentially interested in meeting” through online dating applications, but that no contact or relationships resulted, the board order said.
Nguyen provided certificates showing he had completed courses in health care confidentiality and information privacy even before the board’s decision, and enrolled in a course on medical ethics and boundaries.
The board placed Nguyen’s license on probation for five years and required him to pass the ethics course and undergo an assessment of his fitness to practice.
Nguyen, who specializes in sleep medicine, completed medical school at the University of Louisville in 2017.
The board and Nguyen, who was represented by Louisville attorney Brian Good, agreed on the resolution to the investigation.
The order lists a Bowling Green address for Nguyen but the KBML database has a Henderson address.
