Urology EMR provider files lawsuit against competitor

meridianEMR announced that it has filed a lawsuit against Intuitive Medical Software, the developer and marketer of UroChartEHR software, in the U.S. District Court of New Jersey.

The lawsuit contends that the defendants, including UroChart, obtained "access to meridianEMR’s data" and placed "patients in meridianEMR’s system at risk" and that the defendants, including UroChart, "have and have had unlawful access to patient information in violation of patient privacy rights," meridianEMR said in a press release.

meridianEMR’s complaint alleged that UroChart’s conduct was "willful and intentional with malice" and in violation of New Jersey’s Computer Related Offenses Act, among other claims.Intuitive Medical said in a statement that the U.S. District Court of New Jersey denied the application of meridianEMR for a preliminary injunction to bar Intuitive Medical "…from using, disclosing, conveying, trading on or disposing of [meridian’s] proprietary or confidential information and trade secrets…"

According to meridianEMR, the issue came to light when a meridianEMR monitoring system designed to help protect patient data instantly detected certain copying activities on a practice’s meridianEMR server. Further investigation resulted in the lawsuit in which the court on June 16 entered a temporary restraining order against UroChart, meridianEMR said.

Intuitive Medical claims the litigation resulted from Intuitive assisting a specialty urology practice interested in converting from meridianEMR to UroChartEHR. Intuitive denied that either Intuitive or the meridianEMR customer named in the suit had acted unlawfully or damaged meridianEMR.