Patient Privacy Court Case

By HCCA Staff

This monthly column is written by Ellie F. Chapman of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP in San Francisco. It is designed to provide RPP readers with a sampling of the types of patient privacy cases that courts are now hearing. It is not intended to be a comprehensive monthly survey of all patient privacy court actions. Contact Ellie at ellie.chapman@morganlewis.com.

◆ Lawsuit Alleges Michigan is Unlawfully Storing Newborns’ Blood. On February 8, a group of Michigan parents sued the state’s Department of Health and Human Services (“Health Department”) over the collection and indefinite retention of blood samples taken from their children as newborns. Kanuszewski v. Michigan Department of Health and Human Services et al., No. 1:18-cv-10472 (E.D. Mich. Feb. 8, 2018). The program, run by the Health Department, requires healthcare professionals who care for newborns to collect blood samples within the first 48 hours of newborns’ lives to test for more than 50 maladies, disorders and diseases. The program has collected and stored approximately five million blood samples to date. In their complaint, the plaintiffs describe the practice as a “noble public policy idea” but allege that the practice is being done without parents’ knowledge or consent and violates constitutional rights under the Fourth Amendment. The plaintiffs also allege concern about the potential for misuse and the “possibility of discrimination against their infants and perhaps even relatives through the use of such blood samples and research activity.” According to the complaint, this concern is particularly troublesome, given that there currently do not appear to be any legal restrictions to limit who can access and use the blood samples. In addition to damages, the suit seeks an order declaring the conduct of the defendants to be unconstitutional, and requests that the practice be halted and all data be destroyed and the blood samples returned to their parents. Similar lawsuits have previously been initiated with varying degrees of success in Indiana, Minnesota and Texas.

This document is only available to subscribers. Please log in or purchase access.
Purchase Login


Would you like to read this entire article?

If you already subscribe to this publication, just log in. If not, let us send you an email with a link that will allow you to read the entire article for free. Just complete the following form.

* required field

First name field cannot be blank!
Last name field cannot be blank!
We will send you an email that will give you access to this entire article.
Email field cannot be blank!
Enter a valid email!
Company field cannot be blank!
Enter a valid company!
Title field cannot be blank!

We're committed to your privacy. The Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics (SCCE) & Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA) uses the information you provide us to contact you about our relevant content, products, and services. For more information, check out our Privacy Policy.


About SCCE

The Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics (SCCE) is a non-profit, member-based professional association. SCCE supports our members' work with education, news, and discussion forums. We are a community of leaders, defining and shaping the corporate compliance environment across a wide range of industries and geographic regions. In developing and maintaining effective ethics and compliance programs, our members strengthen and protect their companies.

952.933.4977

About HCCA

The Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA), is a 501(c)6 non-profit, member-based professional association. HCCA was established in 1996 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, MN. We provide training, certification, and other resources to over 10,000 members. Our members include compliance officers and staff from a wide range of organizations, including hospitals, research facilities, clinics and technology service providers.

952.988.0141

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn
Copyright © 2024 by Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics (SCCE) & Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA). No claim to original US Government works. All rights reserved. All information provided through this site, including without limitation all information such as the “look and feel” of the site, data files, graphics, text, photographs, drawings, logos, images, sounds, music, video or audio files on this site, is owned and/or licensed by SCCE & HCCA or its suppliers and is subject to United States and international copyright, trademark and other intellectual property laws. Any third party logos and/or content provided herein is owned by such third parties and is used by permission herein. Your use of this site to is subject to our Terms Of Use and Privacy Statement.
Cookie settings