MONCTON, N.B. — A Moncton, N.B., doctor who checked the medical files of more than 100 young women, including co-workers, waitresses and women he met at the gym and bars, has been fired.
Dr. Fernando Rojas Lievano accessed 141 electronic patient files on 350 separate occasions — all women, all between the ages of 13 and 39.
Dr. Ed Schollenberg, registrar of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New Brunswick, confirmed Thursday he received notice this week from the local health authority that Rojas had been fired.
Schollenberg said there had been a "great deal of anxiety" among staff at Moncton's Dr. Georges L. Dumont Hospital Centre about his potential return to work. Rojas Lievano, 52, had been on various forms of leave since shortly after the allegations came to light.
"They ... didn't want him to come back and they didn't want to work with him," said Schollenberg.
Rojas admitted snooping on the women's files, according to a 2014 report by the province's privacy commissioner, Anne Bertrand.
"He told (health authority) officials that he did not know who these women were, except for those identified as co-workers and those he had worked with or met in the Hospital in the past," Bertrand wrote.
"Dr. Rojas Lievano stated that he was looking at these patient files out of personal interest and to find out their age. He admitted to having accessed these files without the patients' consent or knowledge, and that he had no professional reason to access their files."
Rojas Lievano, a Colombian-born radiation oncologist, had been suspended for six months by both the local health authority and the provincial licensing body, ending last Feb. 15, said Schollenberg. But Rojas Lievano never returned to work after that suspension expired.
Jean-Rene Noel, communications director for the health agency, Vitalite Health Network, would not confirm Rojas Lievano's status Thursday, only confirming the agency's board of directors met on June 28.
He said measures have been taken to ensure such breaches do not happen again, and acknowledged the toll the scandal has taken on the hospital.
"It was a difficult period for everyone, especially the people working in the hospital," Noel said.
Schollenberg said that in many cases, Rojas Lievano learned nothing more than a date of birth from the files, but other information was more sensitive. He often returned to the same files more than once, according to Bertrand's report.
Said Bertrand in her report: "In one case, Dr. Rojas Lievano accessed the file of one single patient 27 times, namely accessing the same patient record 6 times in the fall of 2010, 14 times in 2011, and 7 times in 2012."
Rojas Lievano met with senior officials in March 2013 to discuss about a dozen breaches that came to light during a random audit, Bertrand said. Her report said he was unable to explain himself, and acknowledged his actions were "stupid."
"He stated he made a mistake," wrote Bertrand.
At least some of the women weren't notified until a year after the breaches came to light, and some wondered about their personal safety, said Bertrand.
"The women patients who knew him or had interactions with him stated they found his actions disturbing, but by the same token, they did not believe he had bad intentions or wanted to cause them harm. Of those who did not know him or had ever interacted with Dr. Rojas Lievano, they found the accesses to their patient file also disturbing, a few wondered if they should be worried for their safety, and some wondered if he was selling their information such as to pharmaceutical companies."
Schollenberg said Rojas Lievano still has a licence to practice as a hospital specialist, but cannot work unless a hospital is willing to employ him.
