Rokita Dismisses IU Health Privacy Case
Republican Attorney General Todd Rokita filed the lawsuit against IU Health in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana on Friday, Sept. 15, 2023. Photos are from Attorney General’s Office and IU Health.
By Niki Kelly
Indiana Capital Chronicle
INDIANA — Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita has dismissed a case against IU Health after a judge’s ruling found the case lacking.
“The Court will not stretch the facts to fit the theory advanced by the State. Here, there are no factual allegations from which the Court can reasonably infer that IUH’s policies, or lack thereof, have created an identifiable impending or ongoing threat to Indiana residents’ privacy interests,” the June 21 finding said.
Rokita filed a federal lawsuit in September against IU Health, claiming the state’s largest hospital system did not properly enforce state and federal privacy laws in connection to abortion care provided by Dr. Caitlin Bernard for a 10-year-old rape victim in 2022.
Bernard was disciplined by the Indiana Medical Licensing Bound for violating patient privacy laws.
U.S. District Court Judge Matthew P. Brookman on July 21 granted IU Health’s motion to dismiss the case, saying “the State’s allegations are limited in scope to one physician’s alleged failure to obtain a patient’s written authorization before disclosing her patient’s PHI. Even if the State’s allegations are proven true, a physician’s failure to obtain written consent on one occasion does not indicate that IUH has categorically failed to train its 36,000-member workforce.”
But Brookman gave Rokita’s office until July 22 to file an amended complaint. Rokita’s office did so on that day but days later, on Aug. 7, filed to dismiss its own lawsuit. The case is now over.
Rokita’s office in its own dismissal filing said the case was no longer necessary because discovery in the case has shown IU Health has taken actions to satisfy deficiencies in its policies.
Specifically, he said IU Health conducted employee training on Protected Health Information that included scenarios similar to Bernard’s. One PowerPoint training conducted said, “Team members should never discuss IU Health patients with news media outlets unless approved in advance by IU Health Corporate Communications, which will confirm a signed patient authorization is in place for public disclosures.”
“Considering IU Health’s actions as verified from discovery during this litigation, including the most recent supplements, the State and judicial resources are better served on other matters,” the Rokita filing said.
Democrat Destiny Wells, who is challenging Rokita in the Attorney General race, said the dismissal “is a win for Hoosier taxpayers. Rokita’s litigation against Dr. Bernard and IU Health was nothing but a baseless witch hunt on taxpayers’ dimes. Rokita’s ruthless crusade against healthcare professionals is a weird obsession with the doctor-patient relationship and proves to do nothing for Hoosiers except open the door to government intrusion.”
“This is a win for patients, but also for the group’s 36,000 health care providers who can now trust they’ve received accurate training that is consistent with HIPAA privacy laws and Indiana patient confidentiality rules,” Rokita said. “One of my office’s main priorities is to protect patient privacy because when it’s not, we no longer have reliable, honest healthcare.”