Electronic Medical Record Vendor Suffers Data Breach

This case involves a class action suit against a cloud-based electronic medical record vendor for failing to safeguard patient information archived in their platform. The vendor in question allegedly suffered a data breach that compromised the medical records of more than 100,000 patients. An expert proficient in electronic medical record software systems was sought to review the system in question and determine whether or not the vendor violated security standards.

Question(s) For Expert Witness

1. Please describe your background as it pertains to working with electronic medical record technology.

Expert Witness Response E-132283

I have worked for over 10 years with the California Cancer Registry as their IT director, working with many different medical providers and EMR vendors to analyze and transfer data. Because I have worked with so many different medical record systems, and have such an extensive background in information technology, I am able to easily adapt my skillset to different systems. I have used the EPIC software and GE Healthcare/Centricity, along with their back-end databases extensively as part of a research project analyzing the effectiveness of a public health pilot program. This work involved viewing raw SQL database tables used to store the EPIC and GE Healthcare/Centricity information. These database tables often contain information not included on EMR reports or printed charts. Since then, I have performed electronic medical record forensic analysis for multiple cases. I have analyzed data contained in various EMR systems, including palliative care tracking systems. My expert reports have resulted in favorable settlements for every single case I have been involved in. My unique combination of experience with multiple electronic medical record systems, database systems used to store the medical record data, and digital forensics allows me to collect data, clearly report, and testify on electronic medical record data.