Pinto said he talked to several technicians who had attended Santos’ classes and was told the practice had gone on for years.
College officials have declined to comment, other than to say the issue is under investigation, and that the teacher and program director named by Pinto were still employed.
Pinto told both federal officials and CtWatchdog that he questioned both the instructor and the program director about whether the practice was improper, but was told to keep it a secret.
His letter to the Boston office said he confronted the program director – James Pronovost, about the practice and he told CtWatchdog that the director told him to keep it a secret.
“During those classes students were able to confront patient’s pathologies as well, as their names, ages, sex, medical history, physician orders, radiologists’ own reports,” Pinto wrote to federal health officials in December.
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“We are in communication with the other parties, and issues and concerns are being addressed. This is still an open matter and we will have no other comments till the matter is officially closed,” said school provost James Troup, who declined to make Santos and program director the two staffers available for comment, and said he is the only person from the school who could say anything about the matter. CtWatchdog was unable to reach Santos at the college or hospital.
An official from the Department of Health & Human Services has declined to comment other than that there is an ongoing investigation.
While Pinto said he did not personally know any of the patients whose X-rays were projected on a screen, but they all were patients at the hospital.
Pinto said he was the only student to question the propriety of the practice. He said when he asked Santos about it Santos gave him a harsh look and conceded “it was not allowed by law. He said if we wanted to enjoy this material we had to remain silent.”
He said the other students in the class gave “tacit” approval to continue using these X-rays.
During a class on ethics, Pinto said he again raised the issue, this time with Pronovost, the program director who was teaching the class. “It is pushing the envelope,” Pinto said was the reply. He said Pronovost told him not to disclose the practice to others.
Pinto failed the program after one semester. He said he received two As in the program but received an F in a subjective part of the course. He said he doesn’t know if that was in retribution for raising ethical questions. Did he do the work in the class? Did he feel he deserved to fail it?
A carpenter by trade, Pinto said his wife encouraged him to file a complaint because she was convinced that “there was a connection.”
First of all there is no program for radiology technicians at NVCC. I dont know if such a title even exists. The program is for becoming a Radiologic Technologists. So straight of the ball this is poor journalism because the facts are inaccurate. Secondly, taking the word of a disgruntled former student without researching his claims is unconscionable. I highly doubt the vast majority of these claims. Its much more likely that the true events that transpired adhered to patient confidentiality as much as reasonably achievable while providing xrays as learning tools for students to view. I will be writing to CTwatchdog to complain about this clown to dares to publish such a biased and poorly researched article!
I am also a graduate from the program. Yes it is true that they had complete access to the records and films from Saint Mary’s hospital. Yes we used them for educational purposes but I do believe it is a hippa violation.
I am a graduate of NVCC and am currently employed as a CT Scan Technologist. First off these claims are inaccurate. In my time as a student I had never seen a hippa violation in Tony Santos’ class. Tony was my mentor, he is the only reason I pursued a job in CT Scan. He is an educator and St. Mary’s hospital is a teaching hospital. Patients understand that their images are used as teaching tools when they come to a hospital that has education programs. How else would students learn to evaluate films without the ability to critique the work performed during their clinical rotations. If it weren’t for Tony Santos I would not be educated in critiquing films or understanding the anatomy of patients in an xray. I am appalled at this students claim. I will say one last thing, this program is the most respected program in CT and you will not pass if you do not do the work. People will always try to find someone to blame. I feel sorry that this boy couldn’t make it through and because of that he is trying to slander NVCC.
If Jose Pinto was so concerned about ethics, why did he wait until he was kicked out of the program to report anything??
As a journalist and a human being, you should be ashamed of yourself for wasting any time writing this article. You have made yourself look unbelievably foolish and petty. I suppose there must simply be a lack of anything newsworthy to cover. I was a student at NVCC in the Radiologic Technology program from the fall of 2010 until the summer of 2011, at which time I chose to leave the program for personal reasons. Tony Santos was NOTHING other than a wonderful, helpful, caring, and brilliant teacher and mentor. This program is extremely rigorous and requires an incredible amount of time and effort on the part of its students in order to do well. It is unfortunate that as a result of this former student’s lack of dedication and skill, he felt the need to make these accusations. Unless this individual has a brain cell deficiency, he should have known the damage that would come of his words. It is ludicrous that Mr. Santos is being put in this very awful position of having to defend actions that should not have ever been a problem. The Radiologic Technology program is meant to TEACH its students to not only take an actual x-ray, but to recognize any anatomy which would be considered abnormal. The only way to achieve this goal is to actually SEE the difference between a typical and an atypical image. The patients on the images in question were most likely patients that students had already seen that day. Therefore, I do not see anything wrong with then taking the time to analyze the ANATOMY on these images in an attempt to become a more capable technologist. As shocking as this may be to read, the students in this program are there to learn to be the best Radiologic Technologists that they can possibly be, NOT to waste their very precious time worrying over such catty details as are outlined in this article. I am sorry that this student was unable to maintain his grades and ability in a hospital setting to a degree which is acceptable for this very challenging program. I am even more sorry that he chose to take his frustration, which was a direct result of his own mistakes, out on an individual like Tony Santos, who does nothing but offer his students support, encouragement, and the best education possible.
Perhaps you missed the classes on ethics which teaches that it is a violation of federal laws to disclose the identities of the patients in the X-rays without the patients permission, which the sainted instructor did not have.
I did not realize that the world was so black and white. In general, I think everyone could use a little more empathy. This is not a situation of a bad person committing some horrible crime. In my opinion, it is important to consider an individual’s motives when dissecting their actions. Tony does not have a malicious bone in his body. His only intention was to teach his students and give them the best possible tools for success. Failure is a part of life, it happens to everyone, and that is fine. What is not fine is to throw someone else under the bus because we are upset with our own inability to accomplish something. This whole situation is tarnishing a good man’s reputation. A reputation that he has worked hard for over the years, not only through teaching, but by being someone student’s could turn to when they needed support. There are a lot of people who deserve to have their good name dragged through the mud, but Tony Santos is not one of them.
Sorry, but this is a black or white area. Either you are or are not violating a patient’s right of privacy. No grey area here. The intention and motivation does not excuse violating the law. Students did not need the know the identities of patients to study their xrays. Simple.