Tennessee hospital faces civil rights investigation over release of transgender health records

Vanderbilt University Medical Center is facing a federal civil rights investigation after turning the medical records of transgender patients over to Tennessee’s attorney general, hospital officials have confirmed. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ investigation comes just weeks after two patients sued VUMC for releasing their records to Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti late last year.

“We have been contacted by and are working with the Office of Civil Rights,” spokesperson John Howser said in a statement late Thursday. “We have no further comment since this is an ongoing investigation.”

VUMC has come under fire for waiting months before telling patients in June that their medical information was shared late last year, acting only after the existence of the requests emerged as evidence in another court case. The news sparked alarm for many families living in the ruby red state where GOP lawmakers have sought to ban gender-affirming care for transgender youth and limit LGBTQ rights.

The patients suing over the release of their information say VUMC should have removed personally identifying information before turning over the records because the hospital was aware of Tennessee authorities’ hostile attitude toward the rights of transgender people. Many of the patients who had their private medical information shared with Skrmetti’s office are state workers, or their adult children or spouses; others are on TennCare, the state’s Medicaid plan. Some were not even patients at VUMC’s clinic that provides transgender care.

“The more we learn about the breadth of the deeply personal information that VUMC disclosed, the more horrified we are,” said attorney Tricia Herzfeld, who is representing the patients. “Our clients are encouraged that the federal government is looking into what happened here.”

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Source: NBC News, 10 August 2023