Texas Surgeon Turned Whistleblower Faces HIPAA Violation Trial in Transgender Care Case
Federal prosecutors have charged surgeon Eithan Haim MD in a four-count indictment that alleges four violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
When the alleged HIPAA violations occurred, Dr. Haim was a resident at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and had completed rotations at Texas Children’s Hospital (TCH) in Houston as part of his residency. In 2022, TCH announced that it would cease providing gender-affirming care to minors in response to the state declaring that these treatments – hormone therapy, puberty blockers, and surgery – amounted to child abuse. In May 2023, the Texas House and Senate passed Senate Bill 14 which banned physicians from performing transgender medical interventions on minors. The bill was signed into law by the Texas Governor in June 2023, and the law took effect in September 2023.
Prior to the law taking effect, transgender care could be legally provided to minors legally in the state. While TCH issued a public statement claiming that gender-affirming services would stop being provided to minors, Dr. Haim alleged those services continued to be provided in secret. Dr. Haim disagreed with those services being provided to minors, which he called “barbaric,” and turned whistleblower. He anonymously provided evidence of the continued gender-affirming treatments of minors to Christopher Rufo, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute in New York City, who published an article in the City Journal exposing the practices.
After the article was published, an investigation was launched by the Department of Health and Human Services into potential HIPAA violations regarding the disclosure of protected health information to the media. The case was passed to the Department of Justice, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigated the case. Dr. Haim was identified as the whistleblower and was charged with criminal HIPAA violations. Dr. Haim was aware that he was being charged with criminal HIPAA violations; however, the indictment was sealed so the exact charges were unclear. Ahead of Dr. Haim’s first appearance in court, the indictment was unsealed.
Dr. Haim is alleged to have obtained the protected health information of patients, including patient names, treatment codes, and physicians’ names, from the TCH electronic medical record system under false pretenses and to have disclosed the information to a media contact with intent to cause malicious harm. Dr. Haim maintains that the information provided to the reporter had personally identifiable information redacted, so there was no impermissible disclosure of patient information.
According to the indictment, in April 2023, Dr. Haim is alleged to have requested reactivation of his login access at TCH specifically to access the protected health information of pediatric patients who were not under his care in order to share that information with the media.
Dr. Haim had received extensive training on the HIPAA Rules and additional training was provided on how to anonymously report known or suspected misconduct, including child abuse. The indictment explains that Dr. Haim was told to use the electronic reporting system or to file a complaint with Child Protective Services if misconduct or child abuse was suspected, but no complaint was made.
Dr. Haim’s actions, which the indictment states included gross mischaracterization of the medical procedures provided to minors by TCH, are alleged to have resulted in financial losses, delays in medical care, and threats being issued to patients and physicians.
Dr. Haim maintains that the U.S. Department of Justice has pursued criminal charges for political reasons and claims he has done no wrong and blew the whistle to protect children. Federal prosecutor, Assistant U.S Attorney Tina Ansari, disagrees and alleges the reason for the disclosure to the reporter was not to protect children but to damage the reputation of TCH and its physicians to pursue his own personal goals. Dr. Haim’s trial is scheduled to start on August 16, 2024. If found guilty Dr. Haim faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
