Two hospital employees have been fired for illegally accessing the electronic health record ( EHR ) of a Massachusetts physician who was being treated for Ebola in the facilitys isolation unit . The HIPAA violation was discovered by Nebraska Medical Center officials conducting an audit of their EHR system , according to a statement released by the Omaha , NE - based facility . Richard Sacra , MD , contracted Ebola while working as a medical volunteer in Liberia . He was flown back to the US in September and was placed in a specialized isolation unit , one of only a handful like it in the country . The unit featured a remote monitoring system which allowed Sacra to communicate with his family members via videoconferencing technologies . In its statement to the media , hospital officials said the unauthorized access of Sacras record constitutes a HIPAA violation , an issue we take very seriously , the statement said . Based on the results of the investigation conducted , two employees no longer work for the organization and other corrective action has been taken . The hospital said it informed Sacra about the breach prior to his discharge from the facility . The incident should serve as a reminder to providers that the records of patients with extra notoriety , such as the potentially panic - inducing diagnosis of Ebola , may require an extra measure of security . As is often the case of breaches involving celebrities , the level of curiosityor perhaps the price tagfor information of this nature is high . ;