Just how private are college medical records?

A recent rape investigation at the University of Oregon has brought an apparent loophole to light and is outraging many in the community, once they learn of it.

“Why? That’s what I want to know,” COCC student Caylin Landry asked Tuesday. “Why is this loophole here in the first place?”

FERPA is the Family Education Right and Privacy Act, a law meant to protect the student.

However, because of is, universities can use campus medical and counseling records, under certain circumstances. One of them is if a student explicitly asks for their own records. Another, lesser known circumstance, is if a student is suing the university and the information is deemed “relevant.”

“It seems like such a gross intrusion of privacy,” said Taylor Mehr, an OSU-Cascades student.

There has been speculation over whether UO accessed the unidentified student’s records. They told me in a statement that they did, but only because her lawyer, in a written statement, asked them to.

Tobin Klinger, with University of Oregon, said, “The university’s actions are standard for this type of litigation, and we have said publicly that the records have not be (sic) reviewed in any way. The university did not and would not violate FERPA, HIPAA or a student’s medical privacy, regardless of outside factors.”

Steve Clark with Oregon State University said student health care off campus is covered under HIPPA, the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, which is designed to protect the confidentiality and security of health care information.

But Clark said a student health center on campus, including psychological services, is covered under FERPA, the educational information protection law.

In short, medical and counseling records for on campus centers are covered under educational protection law — not medical.

Clark says it’s the university’s practice to keep records private unless a lawsuit is specifically related to medical or psychological care.

Mehr, the OSU-Cascades student, said, “As an adult it’s really frightening to me, especially for something so sensitive as counseling.”

As it turns out, there are circumstances where the laws put in place to protect students can be used against them.

And that is leaving many students ill at ease.

“It’s almost like I feel emotionally unsafe, like I can’t go and get help,” Mehr said.