Trump administration demands emergency room medical records from hospitals nationwide

Jul 27, 2026

The Trump administration, through the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), is demanding personally identifiable medical records from emergency rooms nationwide. The CPSC aims to bring 100 hospitals into a new automated surveillance system run by contractor Konza Health by the end of 2026. Critics and hospital attorneys are raising alarms over patient privacy and the agency's legal authority for the "mandatory" data collection, with some hospitals refusing to comply.

CPSC medical records demand

▪The data request covers a wide range of conditions, including broken bones, vaccine reactions, and suicide attempts.
▪The CPSC is pressuring hospitals to share patient data, including names, addresses, and diagnoses, with private contractor Konza Health.
▪CPSC and Konza Health officials have told hospital executives that participation is "mandatory" or "required."
▪The Trump administration is using the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to demand personally identifiable medical records from hospital emergency rooms.
▪The CPSC aims to have at least 100 hospitals providing data to the new system by the end of 2026.

Patient privacy concerns

▪Health law professor Sharona Hoffman said the collection of identifiable patient information is "worrisome" and puts privacy at risk.
▪The CPSC's operating manual previously instructed hospitals not to include patients' private information like names or addresses in reports.

Legal authority questions

▪The requests may violate federal privacy law and laws that prevent mandated reporting of private health data.
▪Several major health systems have pushed back against or refused to comply with the CPSC's directive.
▪Hospital attorneys and health experts have raised concerns about the CPSC's legal authority to collect the records.

Trump administration personnel changes

▪In 2025, President Trump fired the CPSC’s three Democratic board members, a move upheld by the Supreme Court.
▪In 2025, 63 career staffers left the CPSC, the most for any single year in a decade.

Broader health data collection efforts

▪The initiative is part of an overhaul of the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) from human-managed reporting to an automated system.
▪The Trump administration has previously sought private health information to support its mass deportation and anti-vaccination agendas.