September 2018 Bar Bulletin
By Casey Moriarty
Receiving a third-party subpoena is not an enjoyable experience, but for Washington health care providers it can lead to substantial risks. Due to the sensitive nature of health care information, the Washington State Uniform Health Care Information Act (“Act”) imposes specific requirements on attorneys who subpoena health care providers for health care information. A provider who responds to a subpoena that fails to meet these requirements risks disclosing his or her patient’s health care information in violation of state law.1
Unfortunately, some attorneys do not know about these requirements and serve subpoenas for health care information without reviewing the Act’s mandates. The...