Adventist Health settles with DoJ over sharing patient data with police
Christian health system Adventist Health has reached an agreement with the California Department of Justice (DoJ) to settle a lawsuit involving two mothers who were incarcerated for their stillborn births.
The California DoJ said Adventist Health shared patient details on Adora Perez and Chelsea Becker, leading to the two women being arrested. The two cases, although unrelated and occurring two years apart—2017 and 2019—each involved the women seeking care at an Adventist emergency room, only to lose their pregnancies.
Both were charged with murder, with prosecutors arguing the unborn babies died as a result of drug abuse. Perez pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges and was sentenced to 11 years in prison. She later appealed her conviction and was released, having served four years.
The charges against Becker were dismissed at trial.
In both cases, Adventist failed to protect the privacy of the women and gave law enforcement medical record case details, despite police not having a warrant, the California DoJ said.
Adventist settled the case for $10,000.
“No woman should be penalized for the loss of her pregnancy,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement. “As we have said repeatedly, the wrongful imprisonments of both women due to unauthorized health disclosures to law enforcement were unlawful. That’s why today’s settlement ensures that Adventist’s patients’ personal health information is handled with the utmost care and in compliance with the law, which will restore and enhance patient confidence.”
As part of the settlement, Adventist agreed to provide its medical personnel with better training on patient rights. The DoJ also required Adventist to maintain a hotline for staff and patients to report the unauthorized disclosure of protected health information.
Going forward, any unauthorized disclosure or leaks of personal health information must be reported to the DoJ within 10 days.
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