NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Years of medical records of transgender people were handed over to the state of Tennessee by Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
The medical center was asked to turn over the records of 160 TennCare patients who had received transgender care services since January 1, 2018.
Late in the day Wednesday, the Tennessee Attorney General's Office gave a reason for the investigation. It said their investigation stems from a doctor apparently publicly describing her manipulation of medical billing codes to evade coverage limitations on gender-related treatment.
Still, there's concern among some transgender Tennesseans about what could come of the disclosure.
In past cases, in other states, medical records of transgender people have ended up in the wrong hands and there's concern that could happen in this case.
Jace Wilder says a number of people sent him snapshots of this message. Wilder is trans, and the education manager at the Tennessee Equality Project. Additionally, he works at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. He worries how the state government might use the sensitive information.
"Worse legislation than we already have? We could see trans folks just be completely doxxed. We could see them lose employment because of their medical status being exposed publicly," said Wilder.
Although the medical center only notified patients in mid-June that their records were shared, VUMC started producing medical records more than six months ago.
"To hear that there was a decision made higher up without any consultation to anyone that was working with patients to keep them safe and not the patients themselves is just wrong truly," Wilder said.
People who received a notice from Vanderbilt that their medical records are part of the state investigation and who want to know more about their rights can contact the ACLU, PFLAG, the Tennessee Equality Project or Lambda Legal.
The medical center sent NewsChannel 5 the following statement about the probe.
“Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) complies with all health care privacy and security requirements established under both Federal and Tennessee law, including but not limited to HIPAA. These laws generally require that personally identified patient health care information be maintained as confidential and not be disclosed to third parties.
VUMC received requests from the Office of the Tennessee Attorney General as part of its investigation seeking information about transgender care at VUMC. The Tennessee Attorney General has legal authority in an investigation to require that VUMC provide complete copies of patient medical records that are relevant to its investigation. VUMC was obligated to comply and did so.”
John Howser, Chief Communications Officer
Editor's note: The day after our original story aired, Vanderbilt University Medical Center responded to a clarifying question that NewsChannel 5 had asked before airing. The hospital says that 160 TennCare patient records were sent to the State, not the records of every TennCare patient. We've updated our story to reflect this new answer.
