Meier v. Awaad (Summary)

HIPAA

Meier v. Awaad, No. 310808 (Mich. Ct. App. Mar. 12, 2013)

The Michigan Court of Appeals reversed a trial court’s order that required the disclosure of the names and addresses of all Medicaid beneficiaries treated by a pediatric neurologist in a medical malpractice suit.  The appeals court found that the HIPAA Privacy Rule permits state law to govern when it is more protective than HIPAA.  In this case, Michigan law is more protective since it requires the patient to waive the physician-patient privilege, and since the privilege was not waived, access to their records was impermissible.