A surgical resident working at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix took a phone camera photo of a patient’s tattooed penis as he was prepping him for an operation. That doctor is no longer working for Mayo Clinic and the surgery is on the hunt for an employee who violated a patient’s privacy by releasing the patient and surgeon’s name - who were involved - to the media.
“His appointment at Mayo Clinic has ended,” announced Denis Cortese, Mayo Clinic president and chief executive officer, in an e-mail to staff Thursday. Cortese said the search for the second person involved with this incident- the one who reported the picture and the patient’s name to the Arizona Republic newspaper is ongoing.
“Both cases represent serious violations not only of our policies, but of the sacred trust Mayo Clinic holds with its patients to respect their privacy and their dignity,” Cortese said in his memo. “The insult to our reputation, our patients, and our staff is the greatest outrage.”
Soon after news of the incident broke, Sean Dubowik — the patient with the tattooed penis — told a reporter that he felt violated and planned to call an attorney. The tattoo reads “Hot Rod,” and Dubowik said he got it on a bet. “The longer I sit here the angrier I get,” he told the Arizona Republic reporter.
