HIPAA Complaint About Fairview Health Services

Jane Johnson’s parents were as excited about her turning 12 years old as she was. The middle school years would likely bring many changes, including new after-school activities, varied sports, and a wider circle of friends.

Unfortunately, Shaun and Katherine Johnson also learned then that Jane has a rare health condition requiring lifelong medical attention. Although they promptly accepted these challenges, they could not have guessed that Jane’s medical providers would suddenly and illegally shut them out of viewing any of her medical records.

CIR is representing Shaun and Katherine to reverse this blatant interference with their right to access their minor daughter’s medical records, which is also a denial of their constitutional rights as parents.

Parents and Proxy Access

At a standard wellness visit prior to Jane’s 12^th birthday, her doctor had some concerns that led to a diagnosis of mosaic Turner Syndrome—a chromosomal disorder that can affect every part of the body. In Jane’s case, it resulted in cardiac abnormalities requiring lifelong management and care.

After the diagnosis, the Johnsons sought treatment for their daughter at Fairview Health Services. Katherine wanted to review the doctor’s notes in Jane’s electronic medical records (maintained in the hospital’s MyChart records system) before their next appointment, but she discovered that the hospital had revoked access to her minor daughter’s medical records.

When Katherine inquired about this, a Fairview nurse handed her a two-page MyChart proxy access request form and said that because Jane is now 12 years old, she would need to meet with hospital staff alone to give consent for her parents to view her medical records.

HIPAA Hypocrisy

Fairview’s across-the-board policy on parental access to medical records violates the fundamental constitutional right of parents to care for their children. It also violates the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), which set federal standards for protecting sensitive patient health information and mandates industry-wide standards for electronic health information like MyChart.

Under HIPAA’s privacy rule, parents have rights to access their minor child’s health information, with the exception of narrowly-defined rules pertaining to certain procedures involving pregnancy, sexually-transmitted disease, or when a provider believes the release of information would pose a risk to the health and safety of the child.

In this case, Fairview Health Services cites a Minnesota state law that further defines exceptions to HIPAA’s privacy rule, including exemptions involving pregnancy, drug abuse, domestic violence, and neglect. None of these exceptions in state law are relevant to the management and treatment of Turner Syndrome or to Jane’s individual case.

“The child is not the mere creature of the state; those who nurture him and direct his destiny have the right, coupled with the high duty, to recognize and prepare him for additional obligations.

Pierce v. Society of Sisters

Serious Threat to Parents Rights

Fairview Health Services’ refusal to abide by federal HIPAA standards is doubly wrong. It violates a deeper principle regarding parents’ fundamental constitutional right to raise, educate and care for their children—and it violates clear federal law and the rules issued under that law.

By unduly limiting all access to medical records for minor children, Fairview runs afoul of a long line of court rulings going back a century. Those cases affirmed that parents fundamental choices about raising their children cannot be regulated by the state without exceptional justification. As the Supreme Court forcefully expressed in one of its earliest parental rights decisions, Pierce v. Society of Sisters, “The child is not the mere creature of the state; those who nurture him and direct his destiny have the right, coupled with the high duty, to recognize and prepare him for additional obligations.“

Jane Johnson is not a creature of the state. She is the minor child of Shaun and Katherine, whose fundamental parental rights indisputably include access to their child’s medical information without the hospital’s interference.