By Emily Ford
eford@salisburypost.com
In an unusual development, the federal government has reopened an investigation into the violation of patient privacy rights at Rowan Regional Medical Center.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights closed the investigation Jan. 3 after the hospital agreed to undergo voluntary corrective action.
But the complainant, former patient Jennifer Alexander, learned Tuesday the government has reopened the investigation, according to her attorney, Richard Rutledge Jr. of Winston-Salem.
It was not immediately clear why federal investigators reopened the case. A spokeswoman for the Office for Civil Rights did not return a phone call from the Post.
Rutledge said his client did not request the action and declined to comment on its significance.
“Until I know something more, it’s hard to interpret what it might mean,” Rutledge said.
Rutledge represents Alexander in a civil lawsuit against the hospital, its owner Novant Health and two hospital employees for negligence, defamation, slander and invasion of privacy.
The hospital pledged cooperation with the investigation.
“At Rowan Regional Medical Center, our employees and physician partners each take our obligation to protect every patient’s privacy seriously,” spokeswoman Robin Baltimore said. “We will fully cooperate with the Office of Civil Rights and actively assist them throughout this investigation.”
Alexander filed a HIPAA Privacy Rule complaint against the hospital in August, alleging that Rowan Regional inappropriately used and disclosed her protected health information and a hospital employee harassed her and her family.
HIPAA is the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
Federal investigators found no violation, but the hospital agreed to take voluntary corrective action including training this month for employees in the hospital departments implicated in the complaint. Training will include safeguarding medical records, confidentiality, disclosing protected health information and more.
The Office for Civil Rights would not reveal which departments were implicated or what evidence led to the hospital’s voluntary corrective action.
This is the second HIPAA investigation conducted at Rowan Regional since the federal law went into effect in 2003.
Contact reporter Emily Ford at 704-797-4264.