Video footage of an employee reading the private journal of a patient undergoing cancer treatment aloud to other staff members went viral last week, leading to the termination of some employees and widespread public outrage.
In the footage, a female employee of Premier Dental Group in Knoxville, TN, wearing black scrubs can be seen reportedly reading the private journal of a patient detailing the medical treatment they were undergoing and sharing their personal thoughts and worries. The employee leans back on a table while she reads journal entries to nearby employees. A caption states, "Found a patients journal and now its story time lmfao."
Another female employee, seated on the floor nearby, listens intently as the Premier Dental Group employee reads the journal. A male employee is also shown in the video sitting in a chair but rather than participating in the conversation, he scrolls on his phone.
The video spread across social media and news outlets last week sparking outrage and calls for a public boycott of the dental practice. Premier Dental issued an apology on Facebook that has since been deleted.
"We deeply regret this incident and the hurt [it] has caused," the apology stated.
According to Premier Dental, the female employees were terminated while the male employee shown in the video was not terminated.
“We are committed to maintaining a respectful and professional environment for everyone, and we will continue to take necessary actions to uphold these standards,” the practice said in its since-deleted post.
Premier Dental was previously embroiled in a lawsuit in which it was accused of fraudulently billing TennCare and endangering the safety and well-being of patients, according to KVUE-TV. The practice settled and agreed to pay $1 million to settle litigation, according to the article.
