Tarri Harrold-Jones and Darryl L. Jones, Petitioners v. Tucker Drury, M.d.; William Pace, M.d.; and Denali…

Summary

The Alaska Supreme Court held that HIPAA does not preempt Alaska law permitting defense counsel to contact a plaintiff's treating physicians ex parte because HIPAA allows disclosure through a valid authorization or court-supervised litigation process. The court nevertheless overruled its prior authorization of such ex parte contact as a routine informal discovery method, concluding that HIPAA's procedural requirements and modern medical-privacy concerns make the practice inappropriate absent the plaintiff's agreement or extraordinary circumstances. The court reversed the order compelling Harrold-Jones to sign a broad medical release and remanded for discovery conducted through formal procedures consistent with HIPAA.