The Dr. Thomas Ferogeneral practitioner, was sanctioned fromLocal health authority of Imperia to have used sensitive patient data for electoral propaganda purposes. Fero, in fact, he was candidate for the office of municipal councilor of Sanremo in the civic list “Let’s go!” in support of mayoral candidate Gianni Rolando.
The decision has been made by the Disciplinary Procedures Office for affiliated personnel (UPDC), which has contested the improper use of the information collected in his professional activity. Fero, in fact, had sent election communications via email, addressing directly to his clients and to those of his predecessor, without having obtained consent for political purposes for the use of patient data.
The complaint And started by some recipients of the emailsthere, which they have the explicitly electoral content of the messages was reported. The provision, based on the National Collective Agreement (ACN) for general practitioners, has imposed on the doctor. I will impose a disciplinary sanctionand pecuniary equal to 10% of the gross salary for the month of August 2024or 593,50 euro.
The disciplinary proceedings ended with recognition of the doctor’s responsibilityor, ascertaining that the use of personal data was in violation of current regulations regarding privacy and informed consent.
The General Director of the ASL, confirming the appropriateness of the sanction, underlined the importance of protecting the privacy and rights of patientseven in areas such as politics, which must remain separate from the doctor-patient fiduciary relationship. The amount of the fine was allocated to the economic budget of the ASL for the current year.
