- HEATHER D. ACOSTA, Plaintiff v. ROBIN BYRUM, SHIRLEY SMITH, BEVERLY EDWARDS, M.D. and DAVID R. FABER, II, M.D., Defendants, NO. COA06-106, COURT OF APPEALS OF NORTH CAROLINA. December 16, 2006. 638 S.E.2d 246.
The court in this case overturned the trial court’s allowing to go forward an action against a physician for emotional distress stemming, inter alia, from an alleged failure to comply with requirements of the HIPAA Privacy and Security Standards. The physician shared his username and password to a hospital’s electronic medical record system with a staff person at his clinic, who then disclosed to third parties sensitive information about the plaintiff. The court noted that this case does not involve a private cause of action under HIPAA, but rather an analysis of whether failure to comply with HIPAA constitutes a failure to comply with the applicable standard of care. Also of note—since this claim will proceed as a cause for ordinary negligence, it is not subject to evidentiary requirements or statutory caps or limitations applicable to medical malpractice claims (and is possibly exempt from insurance coverage for professional liability as well).
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