A former resident of the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics who was terminated from their position is currently awaiting sentencing for breaking federal patient privacy laws at two hospitals in Iowa.
A 34-year-old man named Dr. Gabriel Alejandro Hernandez Roman, previously residing in Iowa City, was charged with wrongfully obtaining personally identifiable health information using false pretenses for personal gain or malicious intent. He was indicted in April, but has now agreed to plead guilty to a lesser charge that excludes any mention of personal gain or malicious intent.
If convicted, the maximum penalty for this charge is a five-year prison sentence and a fine up to $250,000.
In 2022, while working in the emergency room of an Iowa hospital, Hernandez Roman accessed medical information of his girlfriend without proper authorization and for non-medical reasons. As part of his plea deal, he has acknowledged his wrongdoing.
During his time working at the emergency department of an Iowa hospital in 2023, Henandez Roman was accused of accessing patients’ protected health records, threatening patients, and engaging in romantic relationships with two patients. The complaint was received anonymously and was later verified by his superiors at the hospital.
According to state records, in June of 2023, Henandez Roman confessed to the Iowa Board of Medicine that he had accessed the private medical records of two of his patients. He falsely claimed that the reason behind sharing a patient’s photo with others was to remind them about the significance of fiber in their diet.
According to court records, the scheduling of the sentencing date is still pending.
Criminal case follows board action
The Iowa Board of Medicine imposed a fine of $7,500 and an indefinite suspension of the medical license of Hernandez Roman in February. According to the board, he abused his position as a physician by accessing the medical records of women he had dated and was also accused of dishonesty.
According to board records, Hernandez Roman’s charges are linked to his residency program in emergency medicine at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics during his postgraduate studies.
According to reports, in the beginning of 2023, the Clinical Competency Committee of UIHC was informed that Hernandez Roman had breached patient privacy regulations by gaining unauthorized access to the medical records of a person he was in a romantic relationship with. It was alleged that when Hernandez Roman found out that the woman was aware of his actions, he went to her house and threatened to “end” her if she put an end to his career.
Upon questioning about his actions, Hernandez Roman reportedly confessed to having a romantic involvement with one of the women whose records he accessed. According to reports, he disclosed that he had reviewed her medical records in order to check for any sexually transmitted diseases. Hernandez Roman stated, “I thought, ‘Oh f—, I don’t want this girl to pass me anything. I better check.'”
According to board records, Hernandez Roman took a photo of the patient’s prolapsed rectum while working periodically at St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids. He then sent the photo to a woman he was dating, along with written commentary that the board deemed “unprofessional.”
According to a board investigator, Hernandez Roman claimed that he had shared the photo with others as he was participating in a competition for “Puerto Rico’s Sexiest Doctor of the Year” and wanted to establish his credentials as a medical professional.
According to board records, Hernandez Roman was let go from UIHC and currently resides in Puerto Rico. Despite attempts to reach him for comment, he could not be reached. During his defense to the board, Hernandez Roman cited cultural and language barriers as well as his own struggles with mental health as reasons for his behavior and judgment.
