Texas courts to debate preemption
HIPAA Weekly Advisor, August 8, 2005
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A Texas trial court ruled that a state law ensuring public access to government records doesn't preempt HIPAA provisions that protect the privacy of electronic PHI. But the case has now gone to the Texas Court of Appeals in Austin, reports American Medical News.
The case originally began with a news organization's request for five years of statistics related to sexual assault allegations and investigations at state hospitals and Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation (MHMR) facilities. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott argued that HIPAA didn't apply, while the MHMR said the agency could only release statewide numbers not specific to individual facilities.
Abbott said the request for statistics didn't involve PHI and must be released under the Public Information Act. MHMR argued that the information could easily be linked to facilities' addresses, which would also reveal patients' addresses of residence or treatment.
Separate divisions of the Texas Attorney General's Office in May presented oral arguments to the Court of Appeals for both sides.
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