Texas AG sues over parental access to child med­ical records

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Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against Epic Systems Corp. for its allegedly unlawful monopolization of the electronic health records industry and for engaging in deceptive practices that restrict parental access to their minor children’s medical records.

Epic’s database software houses more than 325 million patient records, representing 90% of all U.S. citizens. 

According to the lawsuit, the corporation uses a wide range of exclusionary tactics to prevent potential competition from its partners, customers, and even its own employees. Epic also interferes with hospitals’ ability to use its own patient data as part of its scheme to block software competitors, the lawsuit alleges. 

As a result, Paxton says Texas patients experience diminished quality of health care due to their preferred physicians receiving incomplete or out-of-date patient health records, and that these allegedly anticompetitive practices further harm Texas hospitals and patients by raising costs and blocking innovative technologies. 

“This case is about electronic health records and the dominance that defendant Epic Systems Corporation exercises over them, to the detriment of competition and Texans,” the lawsuit states. “Patient data forms the backbone of the U.S. healthcare system. Hospitals rely on patient data to accurately diagnose and otherwise care for their patients. Patients (and, for minors, their parents) rely on patient data to understand the choices they need to make for their own care. And payers rely on patient data to timely and efficiently process payments to the providers. 

“Without patient data, this system grinds to a halt.” 

Paxton asserts Epic exploits its control over patient medical records, data it does not own, to automatically hide children’s medication lists, treatment notes, and provider messages from parents when their child turns 12 years old.

He says the practices undermine the fundamental right of parents to direct their children’s healthcare and clearly violate Tex. Health & Safety Code § 183.006, which grants parents complete and unrestricted access to their children’s medical records. 

“We will not allow woke corporations to undermine the sacred rights of parents to protect and oversee their kids’ medical well-being,” said Paxton. “This lawsuit aims to ensure that Texans can readily obtain access to these records and benefit from the lower costs and innovation that come from a truly competitive electronic health records market.”

The suit is a part of Paxton’s broader effort to stop electronic health record vendors from restricting parental access to minors’ medical records. Earlier this year, the Office of the Attorney General secured a settlement with Austin Diagnostic Clinic that required full restoration of parental proxy access for children aged 12 to 17.