Ambulance chasing just took a reckless turn -- at the intersection of healthcare and the law.

A Miami man was charged Thursday with buying confidential patient records from a Jackson Memorial Hospital employee over the past two years, and selling them to a lawyer suspected of soliciting the patients to file personal-injury claims.

Ruben E. Rodriguez allegedly paid JMH ultrasound technician Rebecca Garcia $1,000 a month for the hospital records of hundreds of patients treated for slip-and-fall accidents, car-crash injuries, gunshot wounds and stabbings, federal authorities said.

Rodriguez then brokered the patients' names, addresses, telephone numbers and medical diagnoses to the lawyer, according to an indictment. The lawyer, not identified in court papers, used the information ``to improperly solicit JMH patients with hopes of representing them in future legal proceedings.''

Later, the lawyer paid Rodriguez a percentage of the legal settlements won from the patients' personal-injury claims, authorities said.

Lawyers are allowed to advertise on TV and billboards and in the Yellow Pages, but are prohibited from soliciting clients by phone or at their home or in the hospital.

``Whatever the low-water mark would be, this is it,'' prominent South Florida personal-injury attorney Stuart Grossman said of the JMH case. ``I don't know what would be worse, other than staging an accident.''

FOCUS OF INQUIRY

The Miami-Dade lawyer suspected of being in the middle of the alleged scheme is under investigation.

On Thursday, Rodriguez, 61, was charged with conspiring to sell confidential patient information, computer fraud, wrongful disclosure of medical records and aggravated identity theft from early 2007 until March. His arraignment is set for next Friday.

Rodriguez was arrested at his Miami home Wednesday. U.S. Magistrate Judge Ted Bandstra granted him a $200,000 bond after Assistant U.S. Attorney Ben Curtis said he was not a flight risk.

Garcia, 47, arrested in March, pleaded guilty last Friday to one count of wrongful disclosure of healthcare information. She faces up to 10 years in prison at her October sentencing.

Jackson officials said Garcia, a 20-year hospital employee, was suspended without pay in early April and fired last Friday after she pleaded guilty.

A 1996 federal confidentiality law known as HIPAA -- the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act -- created national standards to protect the privacy of healthcare information.

PRIVACY STANDARDS

``Jackson Health System is committed to patient confidentiality,'' the hospital said in a statement. ``We follow all privacy laws and do not condone any behavior that violates such policies.

``Jackson Health System continually educates all employees on privacy rules and regulations and has a zero tolerance for violations.''

According to court records, this is how the alleged scheme unfolded:

Garcia came to know Rodriguez through his wife, whom she met at a Miami-Dade beauty salon. In late 2006, Rodriguez suggested a business proposition: Selling confidential JMH patient information for a flat monthly fee. She began accessing the computer records for him in early 2007.

``In February of 2009, Garcia contacted a confidential source and explained that she had been illegally accessing JMH patient information from the hospital's computer system and selling it to an undisclosed party for $1,000 per month,'' according to a criminal affidavit. ``Garcia explained that she had been engaged in such activity for two years.''

The FBI affidavit, which only addressed a portion of Garcia's illegal activities, said she had looked up computer records of at least 26 patients, none of whom had undergone ultrasound examinations or been treated by her.

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