A nurse from Shelbyville, Michigan, has been formally charged with unlawfully accessing a patient's health records, as announced by the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan, Mark Totten. Jessica Nicole Pitcher, 41, an employee of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, allegedly committed the privacy violation, a misdemeanor, on November 27, 2023. She stands accused of obtaining protected health information from the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Battle Creek without proper authorization.
According to court filings, Pitcher’s alleged action not only broke federal law but also the trust that patients to freely maintain in the confidentiality of their medical dealings. "Patients have an absolute expectation of privacy concerning the communications and information shared with medical professionals and contained within their medical records," said U.S. Attorney Mark Totten, according to a press release. A conviction could potentially lead Pitcher to face up to one year in prison, along with a hefty fine potentially totaling $100,000.
Gregory Billingsley, Special Agent in Charge at the Department of Veterans Affairs OIG’s Central Field Office, stressed the critical nature of patient privacy within the VA system. "Unlawfully accessing patient records erodes trust in VA’s programs and services," he highlighted, in a statement obtained by the U.S. Attorney's Office. The Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, with support from the Battle Creek VA Police, is actively investigating the circumstances surrounding the breach in conjunction with the alleged actions of Pitcher.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald M. Stella is tasked to currently prosecute the case. As it stands now, the charges brought against Pitcher are merely accusations. In line with U.S. judicial standards, she is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
