Washington Gets Access to Patient Names, Emails in Fraud Case

Health-care providers must turn over patients’ names and contact information to Washington in the state’s consumer fraud litigation.

Neither the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act nor its state equivalent protected the information from compelled disclosure in a civil case because there’s already a protective order in place, and the state demonstrated good cause for the information, the US District Court for the Western District of Washington said Wednesday.

The state hasn’t asked for any details about the patients’ medical treatments, Judge Ricardo S. Martinez said. Washington wants only the names, email addresses, and emails relating to nondisclosure agreements ...