A complaint filed with HHS' Office for Civil Rights against St. Rose Dominican Hospital in Las Vegas and owner Dignity Health alleges the organizations violated HIPAA by using patient records to reach out to patients in a position to lobby for the hospital in a contract dispute, according to an article in the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
In January, an agreement between the San Francisco-based Dignity Health and the Nevada Health Services Coalition fell through, and St. Rose was removed from a list of local hospitals. The NHSC, which represents several insurers, claims Dignity Health used patient records to identify patients whose insurers are members of the NHSC and encouraged them to contact their insurers on Dignity's behalf, according to the report.
"It's our position that patient data collected in the course of medical treatment should not be used to lobby or gain leverage in contract negotiations," Christine Carafelli, executive director of the NHSC, told the Review-Journal.
No Dignity Health statement was available at the time of publication.
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