In 2010, the Alaska Department of Law seized hundreds of private patient files from a Ketchikan medical office. It did not tell the patients that it took their files, it did not give them a way to get them back, and the individuals who took the files told others what they said; one Ketchikan police officer told a patient’s daughter that her mother had a sexually transmitted infection.
The ACLU of Alaska represents these patients. On their behalf, we asked Alaska to return the files and to come up with a policy that will protect future patients’ medical privacy.
Status: In August 2014, the trial court ruled against our clients.
