From: Illinois Supreme Court

A recent decision by the Illinois Supreme Court found that the Cook County Circuit Clerk’s standard HIPAA Qualified Protective Order is contrary to the Privacy Rule of HIPAA (section 165.512(e)(1)(v)) because it a.) does not prohibit insurer from using and disclosing PHI outside of litigation; and b.) does not require the insurer to return or destroy PHI at the end of the litigation. The Cook County HIPAA Qualified Protective Order “acts as an obstacle to accomplishing and executing HIPAA’s full purposes and objectives.” The Court held that the Cook County HIPAA Qualified Protective Order is preempted by the Privacy Rule and is not shielded by the McCarran-Ferguson Act.

The standard HIPAA Protective Order was revised January 2, 2018. The Cook County Law Division distributed an updated format to include “the December 15, 2017 memorandum order and opinion issued by Circuit Court Judge John H. Ehrlich in Shull v. Ellis, 15 L 9759, and the transcripts of proceedings in that matter dated August 8, October 11, November 13, and November 28, 2017.”

Be aware of HIPAA requirements. Not all court-approved standard templates necessarily comply.

The opinion in Haage v. Zavala was filed September 23, 2021 and a copy is available in our member Resource Center.