Judge Denies Stay in Ruling Requiring Indiana Planned Parenthood to Allow Access to Medical Records of Patients Under 14

Main Category: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 05 Jun 2005 - 0:00 PDT

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Marion County, Indiana, Superior Court Judge Kenneth Johnson on Wednesday denied a request by... Planned Parenthood of Indiana to delay implementation of his earlier ruling allowing Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter (R) to access the confidential medical records of low-income patients under age 14 who sought reproductive health services at state family planning clinics, the AP/Kansas City Star reports (AP/Kansas City Star, 6/2). PPI in March filed a lawsuit seeking temporary and permanent injunctions to prevent Carter and the state's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit from searching the records of clients at 40 Planned Parenthood affiliate clinics in Indiana. Carter has said he is using MFCU to subpoena the records to investigate whether family planning clinics are properly reporting cases of rape and molestation for children under age 14, adding that his office is obligated under federal and state laws to investigate allegations of abuse and neglect by any medical clinics that receive Medicaid reimbursement. Federal health privacy laws do not apply to Medicaid fraud or abuse investigations, and facilities that do not cooperate with investigations or release patient records can lose their federal Medicaid funding. As of March, MFCU already had accessed the records of eight clients of PPI-affiliated clinics, and MFCU Director Allen Pope was seeking the records of 73 additional clients at 19 clinics, according to the lawsuit. Johnson on Monday denied PPI's claim that disclosing patient information could discourage young people from seeking reproductive health services in the state, saying that the "public interest in the reporting, investigation and prosecution of child abuse trumps even the patient's interest in privileged communication with her physician because, in the end, both the patient and the state are benefited by the disclosure" (Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, 6/1). Johnson on Wednesday denied PPI's request for a stay, saying that there is a great public interest in reporting and investigating child abuse, the Indianapolis Star reports (Indianapolis Star, 6/1).

Next Steps
Following Johnson's ruling, PPI immediately filed a motion for a stay before the Indiana Court of Appeals, the AP/Star reports. "We're disappointed but not entirely surprised by the judge's decision," PPI spokesperson Theresa Browning said (AP/Kansas City Star, 6/2). State officials have said they will not seek any additional patient records until all of PPI's appeals have been exhausted (Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, 6/1).

"Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/repro The Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

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