HIPAA PRIVACY REGULATIONS

Arons v. Jutkowitz, No. 2005-06762, 2006 Slip Op. 09130 (N.Y. App. Div. Dec. 5, 2006)

The New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division overturned an order requiring the plaintiffs in a malpractice action to sign HIPAA-compliant authorization forms to the physicians who treated the decedent to talk to the defendants in private. According to the court, the New York Civil Practice Law and Rules (CPLR), which govern discovery, do not provide for private conversations between a treating physician and the party opposing the patient. Rather, the CPLR provisions provide only for the release of medical records (written documents) or the deposition of the treating physician. Accordingly, it was inappropriate for the lower court to order the plaintiffs to sign the authorization forms.