Brent Harris, MD, has been sentenced to 12 months probation as part of a plea deal for illegally accessing medical records, according to a March 31 report from the HIPAA Journal.
Dr. Harris treats patients as a family medicine physician in Carroll County, Ga., in addition to owning a school and several other properties and businesses in the area. He was accused of accessing the medical records of a student who attended the school he owns after the student went to the emergency department.
The student's mother is Amy Hicks, MSN, a former business partner of Dr. Harris and a nurse. Dr. Harris used the student's medical information to access Ms. Hick's prescription information, which he then used to file an official complaint with the Georgia State Board of Nursing.
The complaint resulted in Ms. Hicks' license being temporarily suspended, but it was reinstated following an investigation, the report said.
Dr. Harris was charged with two counts of unlawfully obtaining prescription drug monitoring program information, two counts of computer invasion of privacy and one count of negligently using, releasing or disclosing PDMP information.