[BreachExchange] New York hospital reaches $2.2M settlement over TV filming

[Audrey McNeil]

http://www.dfw.com/2016/04/21/1093680/ny-hospital-in-22m-federal-settlement.html

Federal authorities have reached a $2.2 million settlement with a New York
City hospital over filming by a television documentary crew that disclosed
two patients' health information without their authorization.

The Department of Health and Human Services said New York-Presbyterian
Hospital let the ABC crew for "NY Med" film one patient who was dying and
another in significant distress. Under the settlement agreement, the
department's Office of Civil Rights will monitor the hospital for two years.

"This case sends an important message that OCR will not permit covered
entities to compromise their patients' privacy by allowing news or
television crews to film the patients without their authorization," office
Director Jocelyn Samuels said. "We take seriously all complaints filed by
individuals and will seek necessary remedies to ensure that patients'
privacy is fully protected."

The hospital said its goal was to educate the public about important health
issues and the filming didn't violate the federal patient privacy rule.

"This program, and the others that preceded it, garnered critical acclaim,
and raised the public's consciousness of important public health issues,
including organ transplantation and donation," New York-Presbyterian
spokeswoman Karen Sodomick said. "It also vividly depicted how our
emergency department medical team works tirelessly every day to save
patients' lives."

In March, New York's Court of Appeals reinstated Anita Chanko's lawsuit
against the hospital over the filming of her husband's death after he was
brought into the emergency room. Mark Chanko was hit by a truck while
crossing a street in April 2011. The episode aired in 2012. His image was
blurred and he wasn't identified, but he was heard talking.

HHS said Thursday that by allowing individuals getting urgent medical care
to be filmed by media without authorization, the hospital's actions
"blatantly violate" federal HIPPA rules. HIPPA stands for the Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which was enacted in 1996.

The settlement says it's neither an admission by the hospital of HIPPA rule
violations nor a concession by HHS that the hospital didn't violate the
rules and isn't liable for civil penalties.
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