SA Health reprimands worker over Tony Modra hospital files
One South Australian hospital worker has been formally reprimanded for opening Tony Modra's private medical files without permission.
SA Health confirmed the result on September 14 after an internal review into access to Modra's records while he was in hospital in June. Two other employees remain under investigation for potentially looking at the files inappropriately, according to ABC News.
The scope of the inquiry has narrowed sharply. SA Health first examined nine people, but has now revised that number to three. Six individuals are no longer under investigation.
The department has apologised to Modra's family for any distress caused by the inappropriate access. It did not name the staff member who was reprimanded or detail the penalty beyond the formal reprimand.
Modra was in hospital after a serious truck crash at Back Valley, near Victor Harbor, on June 18. His cattle truck hit a tree at about 5:15pm on a Thursday afternoon. He suffered serious injuries, underwent facial surgery and spent days in hospital, ABC News reported.
His family later released a statement thanking the community, emergency crews and hospital staff for their support after the crash, according to ABC News. That message came on June 22, while Modra was still recovering.
For supporters, the name needs little introduction. Modra debuted for Adelaide in 1992 and played 165 AFL games for the Crows and Fremantle Dockers. The high-marking full-forward became one of the most popular players of the 1990s.
What makes this stand out is the history. Patient privacy around high-profile admissions has been a repeated problem in South Australian hospitals.
In 2016, 13 hospital staff were sanctioned for accessing the medical records of Cy Walsh. A separate SA Health investigation later found 18 staff had engaged in misconduct or inappropriately accessed the records of a patient understood to be Charlie Stevens.
SA Health says its investigation into the Modra matter is continuing for the two remaining employees. No further findings have been released.
