Hospital Employees Fired Over Injury Photos

A pair of University of New Mexico hospital employees were fired for reportedly using their cell phone cameras to snap photos of injured patients at the hospital.

The photos — mainly close-ups of injuries being treated in the Albuquerque hospital's emergency room in recent months — were then shown on an employee's private MySpace page.

Some hospital employees who reportedly did not report the action were also disciplined in some manner.

The photos came to light after a hospital supervisor received an anonymous tip about them and began an investigation. The patients in the photos could not be informed that their images had been taken because their faces and personal identifying features had been removed from the photos.

Officials said the hospital is treating the matter as an employment issue and law enforcement has not been contacted. There is also no word on whether any lawsuits will be filed.

The use of cell phone cameras in hospitals have caused breaches of patient privacy or questions about such violations in several states in recent years, including California, Arizona and South Dakota.