A Texas doctor who calls himself a whistleblower on transgender care for minors has been accused of illegally collecting confidential information on patients from the nation’s largest pediatric hospital who were not under his supervision.
Federal prosecutors allege that Dr. Eithan Haim, a 34-year-old surgeon, stole the information and transmitted it with a conservative activist with the “intent to cause malicious harm” to Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston.
Haim pled not guilty in federal court on Monday to four charges of unlawfully obtaining personally identifiable health information.
Haim, a Dallas surgeon, completed portion of his residency work at Texas Children’s Hospital. According to the indictment, Haim asked to reactivate his login in 2023 so that he could access information on pediatric patients who were not under his care, including as names, attending physicians, and treatment codes, and subsequently gave the information to a media source.
Haim has officially identified himself as the individual who sent information about Texas Children’s patients to a conservative activist, who then published an article alleging that the hospital was secretly offering transgender care to youngsters. At the time, transgender care for minors was permitted in Texas, but the hospital declared in 2022 that it would discontinue gender-affirming treatments.
Texas lawmakers prohibited transgender care for youngsters in September 2023. The law is being challenged in court. At least 25 states have passed legislation restricting or prohibiting gender-affirming medical care for transgender adolescents, and the majority of those states are facing challenges.
Haim could face up to ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted. He was released on a $10,000 bail.
“I’ve maintained since day one that I’ve done nothing wrong. “We’re going to fight this tooth and nail and stand up for whistleblowers everywhere,” Haim said outside the courts on Monday.
Texas Children’s has declined to comment on Haim’s claims. In prior declarations, hospital administrators claimed that their doctors always followed the law when providing care.
Source: apnews.com
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