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A sleep medicine physician in Kentucky was fired from his job and had his license temporarily suspended for accessing the patient records of women he wanted to pursue romantically, .

Ultimately, the license of Quang Nguyen, MD, was put on probation for 5 years after his actions were detected by artificial intelligence software used by his employer, Deaconess Health System, which operates in the tri-state area of Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois.

That software, called Protenus, detected Nguyen's alleged improper access of medical records on nine occasions between July 15 and July 28, according to board documents. One of the reports indicated that he accessed mental health records, the documents stated.

Hospital staff met with Nguyen the day the activity was detected and he allegedly admitted to accessing the records at that time.

JoAnn Phillips Wood, MD, senior vice president and chief medical officer at Deaconess Health System, filed a related grievance with the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure on August 18.

Nguyen responded to that grievance through his attorney in September, admitting to accessing patient medical records on three occasions after "breaking off a dating relationship," according to board documents. However, he disputed all nine instances of improper access.

Nguyen "acknowledged that all instances related to women he was potentially interested in meeting through online dating apps, but no contact or relationship materialized," according to board documents.

Pam Hight, a spokesperson for Deaconess Health System, that Nguyen no longer works for the health system.

Hight told the Courier & Press that Deaconess has "recently invested in a technologically advanced artificial intelligence software that reviews the millions of transactions that happen each week so we can better detect improper access, allowing us to take action."

This is the second time this year that a Deaconess physician was accused of improperly accessing patient records, according to the Courier & Press.

Earlier this year, at least six women received letters of apology from Deaconess after a physician accessed their medical records without a medical reason.

A lawyer representing the women told the Courier & Press that all of them said the doctor started conversations with them at bars in Evansville, Indiana in order to ask for their names and other personal information. One of the women said the doctor even showed up at her workplace in a suit with a note that he wrote for her, the lawyer said.

That physician, according to the Courier & Press, was also fired by Deaconess.

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