Indiana’s attorney general has decided to drop a lawsuit against the state’s largest hospital system, which accused them of violating patient privacy laws. The lawsuit stemmed from a case involving a 10-year-old Ohio girl who had traveled to Indiana for an abortion.
The lawsuit, filed last year, alleged that the hospital system, Indiana University Health and IU Healthcare Associates, had violated HIPAA and state privacy laws by not protecting the girl's information. However, it was later clarified that no personally identifiable information was shared by the doctor involved.
A federal judge initially dismissed the case in June, prompting the attorney general to file an amended complaint in July. Last week, the attorney general requested the dismissal of the lawsuit, stating that the hospital system had taken steps to address the concerns raised.
These steps included ongoing training for employees on patient privacy and communication protocols with the media. The attorney general expressed satisfaction with the actions taken by the hospital system to improve patient privacy practices.
However, the hospital system maintained that they have always had robust HIPAA compliance policies in place and were disappointed by the implication that corrective actions were only made in response to the lawsuit.
Despite the lawsuit being dropped, the doctor involved in the case was reprimanded by the state's medical licensing board for not adhering to privacy laws. The attorney general's office had sought a more severe penalty, but the board's decision was less severe.
In a separate development, the Indiana Supreme Court reprimanded the attorney general and imposed a fine for violating rules of professional conduct in relation to the case.
