Judge dismisses lawsuit alleging University of Chicago Medical Center gave Google patient records without consent

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit against the University of Chicago Medical Center and Google that alleged the hospital gave the tech giant hundreds of thousands of medical records without patients’ consent.

University of Chicago Medical Center had partnered with Google in 2017 in an effort to use technology to find patterns in patients’ medical records that might help predict medical issues. Google and university researchers said the records used would be stripped of personally identifiable information to protect patient privacy.

A number of similar projects are going on across the country, as health systems try to use technology to improve health care and patient outcomes.

In June 2019, Matt Dinerstein, of Illinois, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against the University of Chicago, the University of Chicago Medical Center and Google, alleging his confidential medical information was given to Google without his written consent.

The lawsuit alleged the information given to Google contained too many personal details, such as times and dates of treatment as well as notes from providers. The hospital shared electronic health records of patients it treated between 2009 and 2016 with Google, the lawsuit alleged.

The lawsuit alleged Google sought the records to help it create its own electronic health record system.

Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer dismissed the lawsuit Friday at the request of Google and the U. of C., saying, among other things, that Dinerstein had not shown that the university’s sharing of information with Google had hurt him financially.

Dinerstein’s attorney, Jay Edelson, said in an email Wednesday that he plans to appeal the court’s decision.

“Cases about whether patients have the right to control their own medical records are being played out around the country,” Edelson said. “We believe this case — where U of C is alleged to have handed over hundreds of thousands of patient records to a company that has made billions of dollars mining people’s data — presents the most significant battleground to date.”

In a statement Wednesday, University of Chicago Medical Center said it was pleased with the ruling and “has complied and continues to comply with the laws and regulations applicable to patient privacy.”

Google spokesman Jose Castañeda said in a statement Wednesday that the company believes its health care research could help save lives, and that it takes privacy seriously.

“In particular, we take compliance with HIPAA seriously, including in the receipt and use of the limited data set provided by the University of Chicago,” he said.

This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Google spokesperson Jose Castañeda’s name.

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