Feds move to dismiss privacy suit (Hippa)

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Dec. 31, 2001, 9:31PM

Feds move to dismiss privacy suit

Physicians, lawmaker seek to overturn U.S. regulation

By ROSANNA RUIZ

Copyright 2001 Houston Chronicle

Attorneys for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services have

filed a motion to dismiss a suit by a physicians group and U.S. Rep. Ron

seeking to overturn medical privacy regulations as unconstitutional.

The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons Inc. and ,

R-Surfside, have until Jan. 11 to respond to the motion.

The Houston suit, filed in August, claims privacy regulations under

the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, which

established standards for computerization of health care records, violates

numerous constitutional rights. The regulations were drafted to provide greater

protection to patients' confidential records because of the ease in accessing

electronic medical information.

The suit alleges the regulations are unconstitutional because the

government would have access to personal medical records without a warrant. They

would also impede patient-physician communication and intrude upon states'

maintenance of personal medical records.

Among the government's arguments in the 56-page motion is that the

plaintiffs claims should not be subject to legal review because enforcement of

the regulations will not begin for more than a year.

" The Department has already issued extensive policy guidance on the

practical application of the Privacy Rule, and is likely to issue additional

guidance before the 2003 compliance date, " the document states.

The government's motion also seeks to dismiss , a physician,

from the suit because " he alleges no injury to himself and lacks standing " to

bring the suit.

could not be reached for comment.

Tripp, a Houston attorney for the plaintiffs, said the

suit was filed here because many of the association's members work at the Texas

Medical Center. A similar suit has been filed by the South Carolina Medical

Association in South Carolina's Columbia district. The Louisiana State Medical

Society has joined that suit.

The Department of Health and Human Services devised the privacy

regulations to protect patients' privacy and ensure medical records are not

misused.

Donna Shalala, then-secretary of health and human services,

published the new rules in the Federal Register in Dec. 2000. Revised rules were

issued in July by Tommy , the current health and human services

secretary, to clarify the regulations.

The rules provide that doctors, hospitals and other health care

providers in most instances must obtain written consent from patients before

using or disclosing certain medical information. Patients would also have the

right to inspect, copy and amend their records.

Some Democrats, consumer advocacy and privacy groups appeared to

laud the revisions while hospitals, insurers, pharmaceutical companies and

others remained opposed to the regulations.

" Far from protecting privacy, these rules give government officials

and certain private interests a new federal right to access medical records

without consent, " stated in a release posted on the association's Web site.

Still, the suit alleges the new regulations violate constitutional

rights by requiring physicians to allow government access to records without

patient consent.

According to court documents, the regulations require health care

providers offer access to records so that Health and Human Services can

determine compliance with the privacy rule. The reviewed records " would

generally not contain protected health information, " court documents state.

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