Group claims newspaper series violated HIPAA
HIPAA Weekly Advisor, January 10, 2005
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The nonprofit organization Friends of King Drew filed a complaint against the Los Angeles Times and the county health department, stating that both violated HIPAA by revealing, in a series of articles, confidential information about patients treated at the Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center in Los Angeles, according to the Associated Press (AP).
The Times articles looked at patients and family members who alleged mistreatment and problems with patient care at the medical center. John Wallace, spokesman for the county, told the AP that the newspaper collected the information for the articles using public records, and that no HIPAA violation took place.
"I can state categorically that at least anybody working for the department in an official capacity did not violate HIPAA," he said. "A lot of the patients who were identified were identified through court documents and settlement documents."
Friends of King Drew plans to file a defamation lawsuit if the Times doesn't print a retraction within 21 days, reported the AP.
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