A dental practice in Knoxville, Tennessee, confirmed it fired the employees seen on a viral video reading a patient’s private diary aloud.
Premier Dental Group came under intense public scrutiny after the video made the rounds on social media and sparked outrage across the country.
The video is a recording of a Snapchat story that shows one of the dental group’s female employees reading the journal filled with passages on the patient’s thoughts and concerns about their treatment plan as two other staff members sit and listen. Viewers can hear staff members snicker and chuckle at times during the reading.
After the recording was posted online, it quickly went viral and drew a national outcry, with numerous viewers demanding the dental group fire the employees and investigate the video.
“This is absolutely disgusting,” one X user said. “They should all be fired.!!” “Scum of the earth to read a diary and mock a cancer patient,” another X user said.
“This is utterly childish, unnecessary, unfunny, and downright cruel and void of empathy,” a Reddit user commented.
Premier Dental Group posted a statement on its Facebook page on Monday confirming that the video did indeed feature its employees and was recorded inside its office.
“Premier Dental Group of Knoxville is aware of a recent incident involving an inappropriate video created and shared by some of our employees that addressed an individual’s medical condition in a disrespectful and unprofessional manner. We deeply regret this incident and the hurt has caused,” the statement said.
The provider also said that the “employees have been addressed” and that the group would review “internal policies and training procedures.” The statement was posted shortly before the provider scrubbed its Facebook profile and rendered it inaccessible.
Later, the dental group posted a second statement on its Google business page confirming that the employees involved in the incident were terminated. The provider’s initial statement is also posted there.
This isn’t the first time the practice has been embroiled in scandal and controversy. Last year, the provider had to pay a $1 million settlement after a lawsuit alleged that the practice committed fraud and submitted false claims to Tennessee’s Medicaid program, TennCare.
According to WBIR 10 News, the lawsuit accused the provider of using unqualified dental hygienists, overcharging for procedures that weren’t needed or performed, and treating patients like “cattle” to try to maximize profits.
The Better Business Bureau reported that the practice is not accredited and gave it an “F” rating.
