Indiana Lawyer Common Todd Rokita just lately filed a lawsuit in opposition to IU Well being and IU Healthcare Associates, accusing them of violating affected person privateness and state regulation. The lawsuit revolves round a case wherein an IU Well being OB-GYN, Dr. Caitlin Bernard, shared the story of a 10-year-old rape sufferer who had traveled from Ohio to Indiana for an abortion. The lawsuit alleges that IU Well being unlawfully supported Dr. Bernard after she shared the affected person’s story in a July 2022 IndyStar article, regardless of an Indiana Medical Licensing Board ruling in Might 2023 that she had breached state and federal privateness legal guidelines.
IU Well being initially claimed that their assessment of the case discovered no violations of affected person privateness legal guidelines. Nevertheless, the licensing board disagreed and reprimanded and fined Dr. Bernard $3,000. This determination was met with disagreement from many medical professionals and the American Medical Affiliation, who argued that Bernard had not violated any federal legal guidelines.
Within the lawsuit, Lawyer Common Rokita claims that IU Well being and IU Healthcare Associates made a improper determination in prioritizing the safety of the physician relatively than affected person privateness. Rokita argues that IU Well being’s unique assessment of the case was insufficient and did not correctly examine Dr. Bernard’s actions. He additionally accuses IU Well being of being inconsistent in its utility of privateness insurance policies and of publicly contradicting the licensing board’s determination, thereby condoning Bernard’s misconduct.
The lawsuit voices issues concerning the confusion created by IU Well being’s actions, stating that inconsistencies and confusion surrounding acceptable conduct beneath HIPAA privateness legal guidelines and the Indiana Affected person Confidentiality rule threaten the privateness of Indiana sufferers. As of now, Indiana College and IU Well being haven’t offered any feedback in response to the lawsuit.