Lawmakers quietly fix problems with health information exchange law; suit dismissed
In the end, it came down to one word: "may."
A bill, which moved quietly through both Houses of the Oklahoma Legislature this year, eliminated a controversial state law that required health care providers to supply patient information to the Health Information Exchange. The measure sparked the dismissal of a lawsuit that had challenged the constitutionality of the law.
Last year, the state's largest police union and several physicians sued the Oklahoma Health Care Authority. The lawsuit alleged that mandatory participation by the state's health care providers in the Health Information Exchange was unconstitutional and a blatant invasion of privacy. The lawsuit also sought a temporary injunction to stop the transfer of any medical information until a court could decide the fate of the information exchange. The law sparked pushback and protests from advocacy groups.
And even though the district judge hearing the case dismissed three of the plaintiffs' claims, he kept the case alive for trial in February. Three months later, on May 1, Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt signed House Bill 3556. That measure eliminated the HIE requirement by changing a single word — from "shall" to "may" in the law, making participation in the exchange voluntary
A single word change in the law led to dismissal of lawsuit, attorney says
Bob Burke, the attorney represented the physicians in the case, said he was pleased the Legislature solved the problem. "The lawsuit has been dismissed because the Legislature changed one word in the law ... from 'shall' to 'may,'" Burke said. "The Legislature is to be applauded for being sensitive to complaints about mandatory participation in the HIE system."
Dr. John Munneke, one of physicians who filed the lawsuit, said his group's objective was simple: prevent the state from forcing every health care provider to participate in the HIE. "It is now optional," Munneke said. "If a doctor or hospital, with the patient's permission, wants to upload medical records to the HIE, he or she can. We believe it was unconstitutional for the state to force us to do so."
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In his earlier ruling District Judge Anthony Bonner dismissed the claim that the health information exchange statute violated the Oklahoma Constitution. He said that was because all health care providers that registered an exemption would be granted one and because health care providers can opt out of accepting Medicaid and Medicare.
“Medical providers are not compelled to participate in the HIE directly or indirectly," the judge wrote.
Bonner also ruled that the fee levied against those medical providers who joined the exchange was not a tax. “This court finds that the subscription and connection fee is not a tax with the intention of revenue raising purposes, but is assessed primarily for regulatory purposes,” the judge wrote.
Echoing Burke, Austin Vernier, the attorney for the Oklahoma Fraternal Order of Police, said he "was thrilled that the Legislature listened to first responders, doctors, dentists, physical therapists, and other medical service providers and corrected a mistake."
"We have instructed police officers to tell their medical service providers to not upload medical records even if the provider chooses to join the HIE," Vernier said. "That will protect private medical records of officers from being uploaded into a system that could have been hacked and cause great harm to the officer."
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma quietly makes health information exchange voluntary
