You have just received a letter from the opposing party asking that you sign a release for your medical records. Can they obtain the records? The short answer is yes; under certain circumstances your medical records may be relevant and it may be possible to subpoena the documents. However, due to the private nature of health information you must either give your permission in advance by signing a release, or the person seeking the subpoena must seek court permission if you refuse to sign a release. Absent a release or court order the health care provider should not be providing any information.
The basis to object to a request to release the records depends on whether the documents requested are relevant to an issue in the case. The request cannot be used simply because the other party is curious or wants to harass or embarrass you.
Whether your medical records are relevant in your case depends upon the issues in dispute. If you are requesting spousal maintenance and are claiming you cannot work because of your medical condition, then your medical records may be relevant to show whether your medical condition prohibits you from working.
If parenting time is in dispute and you or your spouse are claiming that a medical condition affects the ability to parent, then medical records may be relevant to issues of parenting time. If either parent has seen a counselor or is in therapy, mental health records may be relevant to parenting time.
Talk to your lawyer about your rights. There are a number of options that may be available to keep or prevent the disclosure of your information if requested by the other party. If the records are not relevant to any issue and are just being requested to harass you, then your lawyer may be able to obtain a protective order so that the records do not have to be disclosed, or for the disclosure to be limited.
If documents are released to the other side, talk to your lawyer about obtaining a confidentiality order to limit distribution and use of the documents. A confidentiality order may contain provisions that (1) provide only the parties, their attorneys, and experts may review; (2) none of the documents may be filed with the court except under seal; (3) all documents must be returned to the other party at the conclusion of the litigation; and (4) limitations on making copies of the documents. Depending on the nature of the documents, there may be additional safeguards that should be considered before agreeing to the release of records.
In addition, if the documents are relevant there may be the opportunity to see if you can obtain the documents first and redact any parts that are not relevant to the action. For example, if therapy records are sought and only some of the records relate to issues relevant to the divorce, then seeking a request to limit the information produced to certain topics or issues is also an alternative to limit information. This may be something that can be agreed and stipulated to by the attorneys, or by order of the court.
While different forms of discovery, especially subpoenas of highly sensitive or confidential information, may feel as if the other party is simply trying to harass you, there are times when the information can be extremely helpful to you. For example, if records do show you have medical conditions that limit your employment opportunities, then you may wish to produce the documents in advance of any subpoena. Similarly, records that show you have participated in counseling or addressed certain issues that otherwise may have affected your parenting time, may also be records you want to produce to strengthen your position.
What if a spouse retrieved the military medical records WITHOUT a subpoena and without the knowledge or permission of the other spouse in a divorce discovery court hearing? The attorney read them and they are now public record. Is that a HIPAA violation? What can be done?
Well if the spouse has them.obviously had access to.them.
What about a spouse who used information he gathered about me to impersonate me to breach/access my personal health insurance online portal? He is not a HIPAA-covered entity. But impersonating me to view my PHI, and take control of my account has to be illegal (in Oregon), right?
What is the law when it was admitted in court that divorcing husbands attorney showed his/her spouse the opposing sides medical records? There were full hippa laws that records would not be shown to anyone, no information to be shown period.
Wife fakes cancer for ten years but husband can not prove it in divorce court because she refuses to sign release. Is there anything that can be done?
What if the parent of a child has passed away and the grandparents of deceased are attempting to get visitation with the child but the other parent of the child flees the state and says “no”? Fleeing parents mental health is in question. Fleeing parent claims to be a fit parent and has never undergone psychiatric care but actually has had psychiatric care and medication. Can the grandparents request to supeona medical records and pharmaceutical records to show she is lying? There are also texts from deceased (understand it’s hearsay) and police reports.
What if you got an STD and you suspect that your spouse gave it to you and has been seeing other people behind your back
What if my ex without my or court authorization disclosed a copy of a drug test result to another ex?
I was given the life insurance policy on my ex-husband as part of my divorce decree and he receives an additional $100 per month out of my pension. The divorce was 17 years ago and he has been receiving the $100 per month from my pension and I also have made every premium payment. He had requested it to be decreed like that because he wanted to move to Thailand and he needed to show more monthly income. He was turned down by Thailand. The premiums will cost so much after the age of 81, that I will not be able to continue the premium. I would like to sell the policy and obtain a life settlement in the hopes that I will at least recover what I put into it. But he is refusing to sign the medical release form. I will never see that form and have no interest in knowing what his medical issues are. I only want to sell this policy. He has obtained an attorney who says he is protected by the HIPPA law. Is there any hope on a court requiring him to sign the policy or making him pay me the money I put into it since I liken it to giving me a car but not the keys. He had no problems receiving that $100 per month for the past 17 years from my pension.
If you believe that you caught an STD from your spouse, I suggest letting your treating doctor notify the local health authorities, so they can do “contact tracing” of whomever else may be in the chain of infection. Your spouse, whoever else your spouse has slept with, whomever THEY have slept with, etc etc. ALL of them need to be tested, and if infected, treated.
i am recently divorced and the Pharmacy called my ex about a prescription being picked up… when i called the pharmacy to have his permission taken off they told me he would have to take himself of MY RECORDS!! This can’t possibly be right!! is it??