Iowa ER Doctor Faces Up to 5 Years in Jail for HIPAA Violation
A Puerto Rican doctor has been convicted of wrongfully obtaining the individually identifiable health information of an individual under false pretenses and faces up to 5 years in jail, 3 years of supervised release, and a financial penalty of up to $250,000.
Dr. Gabriel Alejandro Hernandez Roman, 30, formerly of Iowa City, IA, had been issued a resident physician license by the State of Iowa and participated in the emergency medicine residency program at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (UIHC). Between 2020 and 2023, Dr. Hernandez Roman worked in the emergency departments of two UIHC hospitals, one in Cedar Rapids and another in Iowa City.
In January 2022, Dr. Hernandez Roman accessed the medical records of a patient who was not under his care, without authorization from either UIHC or the patient. The records were accessed under false pretenses at the Cedar Rapids hospital to learn private medical information about the patient. He also admitted to accessing that patient’s records at the Iowa City hospital in March 2021, also under false pretenses and without authorization from UIHC or the patient. Dr. Hernandez Roman also admitted to accessing the medical records of another patient under false pretenses and without authorization in October 2020. Both patients had been Dr. Hernandez Roman’s romantic partners.
Dr. Hernandez Roman also admitted to another privacy violation in January 2022. While working at the Cedar Rapids hospital, Dr. Hernandez Roman took a photograph of a patient, when there was no legitimate medical reason for taking the photograph, and sent it to another individual via Snapchat. The photograph was of the prolapsed rectum of a patient in a hospital setting.
The privacy violations were investigated by UIHA and the Iowa Board of Medicine. In June 2023, in response to the investigation, he sent a letter to the Board of Medicine in which he admitted to accessing the medical records of both patients, sending the photograph of a patient via Snapchat, and lying about the reasons for sending the photograph. Under the plea agreement, Dr. Hernandez Roman admitted that the reason for sending the photograph was not to remind his mother of the importance of fiber intake. Dr. Hernandez Roman sent the photograph to a romantic partner.
UIHC terminated Dr. Hernandez Roman’s residency over the privacy violations and the Iowa Board of Medicine suspended Dr. Hernandez Roman’s license indefinitely. Under the plea agreement, Dr. Hernandez Roman is free on bond and will be sentenced by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams after a presentence report is prepared. Dr. Hernandez Roman faces up to 5 years in jail, 3 years of supervised release, and a financial penalty of up to $250,000.
