Dive Brief:
- The IRS has seized the server containing medical records on 10 million Americans in an effort to prosecute a tax fraud case.
- The IRS took the server as part of an investigation of Chula Vista, Calif.-based Three Rivers Provider Network founder Blaine Pollock.
- According to FierceHealthIT, Pollock was indicted on 13 counts of tax evasion, conspiracy and filing fraudulent tax returns; he has pled not guilty to all of these charges.
Dive Insight:
It's never pretty when private health information ends up in the hands of someone other than originally intended -- and given the scale of what could be called a data breach, it's a particularly serious matter. The litigants are now wrangling over whether the warrant the IRS used to seize the server truly give them the right to do so. Pollock's attorney is arguing that the server was like a file cabinet and that the warrant didn't cover everything inside. Meanwhile, it's worth noting that HHS recently stated that the ACA doesn't grant the IRS free access to Americans' medical records without cause. It seems this issue will be a very contentious one.