Nine employees at One Medical, owned by Amazon, allegedly accessed the medical records of a deceased patient without authorization following the filing of a wrongful death lawsuit by the patient’s family, The Washington Post reported May 10.
Here are nine things to know:
- The family of Philip Tong, a One Medical patient who died in California in late 2023, is suing the company after receiving a letter confirming that employees accessed his medical records without a valid reason following media coverage of his family’s wrongful death lawsuit against the company.
- According to court documents, in a letter sent by One Medical, the company stated that between December 2024 and January 2025, the employees wrongfully accessed Mr. Tong’s contact information, medical insurance ID number and clinical details about his care.
- One Medical said the employees are no longer employed by the company.
- The company also said it had “reeducated our care team on One Medical’s privacy policies and procedures, specifically, the importance of only accessing patient records as needed to perform job duties or provide care.”
- Attorneys for Mr. Tong’s family said the unauthorized access of his records violated a California medical privacy law.
- “One Medical proactively audits internal access of patient medical records. In the event we discover inappropriate patient medical record access, we investigate and take appropriate action, which may include employee termination,” Samantha Schumer, a spokesperson for the company, told The Post.
- Mr. Tong, a longtime One Medical patient with uncontrolled diabetes, died Dec. 18, 2023, after reporting serious symptoms during a telehealth visit, including blue feet, coughing up blood and difficulty breathing. A One Medical provider recommended an inhaler, but Mr. Tong went to the hospital instead, where he died the same day.
- His family is suing both One Medical and the hospital for wrongful death, calling the care negligent.
- Amazon, which acquired One Medical in 2022 and folded it into its health division in October 2023, has denied the allegations.
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for July 10.
