Medical-privacy laws called toothless

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Privacy laws that strictly regulate the release of people’s medical information in New Mexico need to be strengthened.

That’s according to one Albuquerque man, who said he had no choice but to sign a settlement after he sued a local medical office for allegedly betraying his family’s privacy.

“Everybody’s afraid of the (health information) law,” said Bobby Romero. “To me, it’s like a lion with no teeth.”

Romero filed the suit against the medical office several years ago. The settlement he signed a few months ago forbids him or his attorney from talking about the details. However, court documents obtained by News 13 spell out what happened.

Prior to the suit, Romero was in the middle of a custody battle with his adopted son’s biological father, whose wife happened to work at the medical office where Romero and his family had gone for years. The wife repeatedly violated medical privacy laws as the custody case dragged on, according to the lawsuit.

At one point during the lawsuit, the medical group’s privacy officer testified that the wife improperly accessed the Romero family’s private medical information.

“To me, you mess with my children (and) you’ve got a war,” Romero said. “So that’s why I pushed so hard and filed a lawsuit.”

Romero said he thought he and his family had a strong case, but they eventually had to give up and agree to a settlement, largely because of what he and his attorney described as a weakness in state law.

The medical group’s attorney actually pointed it out: State law says the Romero family could not collect monetary damages, unless they suffered physical harm.

“The stress that they were put under was very significant, but it didn’t result in a heart problem,” said Hal Atencio, the Romero family’s attorney. “It didn’t result in an ulcer or anything like that,.”

According to Atencio, New Mexico law needs to change so that physical injury is not required to collect damages.

“If New Mexico laws were stronger for this particular type of problem, then the patient whose privacy rights are violated would be able to hold the health care provider to a higher standard,” Atencio said.

So Romero is waging a campaign for change.

“I want the problem to be solved so that this sort of thing doesn’t happen to the average citizen,” he said.

Romero has written state and federal lawmakers, as well as the governor’s office, asking for help. His attorney claims the issue has the potential to affect many people.

“If you know that some of this information is potentially going to be spread publicly, maybe you don’t want to tell the doctor all those details,” Atencio said. “Maybe you keep some of the embarrassing stuff away.”

For Romero – it’s still personal.

“I’m very angry,” Romero said. “It should have never happened.”

Federal violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act are regulated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which can issue sanctions against medical providers who break the law.The federal agency was unable to confirm if the medical provider sued by the Romero family was subject to any sort of disciplinary or corrective action.