Oregon Health and Science University v. Oregonian Publishing Company, LLC

Summary

The Oregon Supreme Court reviewed whether information requested from Oregon Health and Science University under Oregon’s public records law—including claimant names, attorneys’ names, and alleged-tort dates—was exempt from disclosure. The court held that, for tort claim notices involving patients, the requested information constituted protected health information confidential under Oregon law and exempt from disclosure, and that the public-records statute did not require disclosure. The court reversed in part and affirmed in part the Court of Appeals, reversed the circuit court’s judgment and attorney-fee award, and remanded for further proceedings concerning the records, including student-related claims.

Holdings

1. Claimant names, attorney names, and dates of alleged torts, considered in combination, constitute protected health information under HIPAA and the Privacy Rule.
2. Disclosure of the protected health information is not required by ORS 192.420(1), because unauthorized disclosure is restricted by ORS 192.558(1) and the information is exempt under ORS 192.502(9)(a).
3. The court declined to decide whether student-related tort claim notices are education records under FERPA because the parties' arguments were inadequately developed, leaving the Court of Appeals' remand on that issue undisturbed.

Questions Presented

1. Whether claimant names, attorney names, and dates of alleged torts in patient-related tort claim information constitute protected health information under HIPAA and Oregon law.
2. Whether Oregon's public-records law requires disclosure of that protected health information despite HIPAA and Oregon confidentiality protections.
3. Whether the court should decide whether student-related tort claim notices are education records protected by FERPA when the parties' arguments were inadequately developed.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded