By Emily Ford
eford@salisburypost.com
SALISBURY — The federal government has reopened an investigation into the violation of patient privacy rights at Rowan Regional Medical Center.
This marks the third time the case has been investigated within two years.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights closed the original investigation Jan. 3 after the hospital agreed to undergo voluntary corrective action.
The case was reopened a few weeks later.
After an investigation, the Office for Civil Rights closed the case with a finding of “insufficient evidence/no violation,” according to Rachel Seeger, spokeswoman for the federal office.
Recently, the case was reopened once again.
Seeger said investigators are interviewing additional witnesses but gave no other details. The Office for Civil Rights is unable to discuss specifics of an open investigation, she said.
She expects the investigation to close soon, Seeger said.
“I think it was a case of more evidence coming forward,” attorney Richard Rutledge Jr. of Winston-Salem said.
Rutledge represents Jennifer Alexander, a former Rowan Regional patient who filed a HIPAA Privacy Rule complaint in August 2010 against the hospital.
HIPAA is the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
Alexander alleged that Rowan Regional inappropriately used and disclosed her protected health information and a hospital employee harassed her and her family.
After the original investigation, the Office for Civil Rights found no violation of patient privacy rights. But due to evidence gathered during the investigation, Rowan Regional employees in the departments implicated in the complaint underwent training on safeguarding medical records and confidentiality.
The Office for Civil Rights did not disclose what evidence led to the hospital’s voluntary corrective action or what departments were implicated.
In response to the new investigation, hospital President Dari Caldwell said Thursday Rowan Regional is looking into the allegations.
“We are addressing the complaint internally with our privacy office,” she said.
In addition to the HIPAA Privacy Rule complaint, Alexander also filed a civil lawsuit in 2010 against the hospital, Novant Health and two hospital employees for negligence, defamation, slander and invasion of privacy.
The lawsuit is in the discovery phase, which is expected to continue for several months, Rutledge said. The case has been held open into next year.
Contact reporter Emily Ford at 704-797-4264.