Alwin Carl Lewis, MD, a Burbank, Calif., internal medicine specialist, filed a lawsuit after he was placed on probation following an assessment of his prescription records by the Medical Board of California. The board began looking at Dr. Lewis’ prescription records after a patient filed a complaint. Dr. Lewis argued the review of his prescribing records violated HIPAA laws because it disrupted his patient’s privacy.
The California Supreme Court rejected Dr. Lewis’ argument, stating the need to protect the public through periodic reviews of physician records outweighs privacy.
This specific case involved the state’s Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System, which requires every prescription of a controlled substance to be logged into a database with patient information.
“Review of these records was justified by the state’s dual interest in protecting the public from the unlawful use … of a particularly dangerous class of prescription drugs and protecting patients from negligent or incompetent physicians.” Justice Goodwin Liu wrote in the ruling, according to the LA Times.
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