EXETER -- Exeter Hospital has taken legal action after claiming that the state's Division of Public Health Services is violating patient privacy laws by requesting "broad access" to medical records in their investigation into a hepatitis C outbreak.

The hospital said it took action in Merrimack County Superior Court in an attempt to seek judicial guidance "in this challenging intersection between individual privacy and the DPHS' desire to examine confidential patient medical records."

The legal dispute arose as the hospital, state and other agencies investigate the outbreak that infected 32 former patients.

Former hospital medical technician David Kwiatkowski, 33, has been accused of infecting the patients with his strain of hepatitis C by using syringes with the painkiller Fentanyl and then returning them to be used on patients.

In a statement issued late Wednesday, the hospital said it is continuing to work with the state to identify all victims and to make sure that there are no other threats to public health and safety.

However, the hospital expressed concerns about some of the information sought by the state and wants the court to move quickly to schedule a hearing and issue a ruling.

The hospital filed a petition for declaratory judgment and a motion for a protective order asking that the state not be given access to some of the records.

"While we must act with extreme caution in granting access to private medical records without an individual's advance consent, we understand the DPHS may need to gather specific information from a small subset of those records to help with the investigation. We hope to find a way to provide the DPHS' investigators with limited access to those records to provide them with what they need without violating our patients' legal rights," the hospital said.

Associate Attorney General Anne Edwards said she doesn't believe the state's request for patient records violates any state or federal laws.

"We're seeking medical records of patients in order to continue the investigation. We don't believe that there's any concern with respect to the records that we're requesting," she said. 

The state plans to respond to the hospital's action next week and will ask the court for an expedited hearing.

"The court will understand the importance of this investigation," Edwards said. "I don't have a significant concern that this case is going to impact the investigation in any way."

Exeter state Rep. Lee Quandt, who is chairing an ad hoc committee exploring changes in state laws in the wake of the outbreak, said he was unaware of the hospital's action.

"I would hope that the Department of Health and Human Services wouldn't be asking for information that they're not entitled to and I would absolutely hope that Exeter Hospital is cooperating to the fullest extent because that's what we're all striving for," he said.

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Jason Schreiber may be reached at jschreiber@newstote.com.