Health Care Law
Angela T. "Angie" Burnette
Recognized in Best Lawyers since 2018 Awarded Practice Areas
Biography
Angie is a trusted advisor with a diversified health care practice. Clients both in and out of the health care industry rely on Angie for advice in handling risk management emergencies, Big Data issues, and HIPAA privacy, security and breach notification matters. She also assists hospitals, physicians, and other providers with a variety of regulatory issues, including medical staff, the Health Care Quality Improvement Act, National Practitioner Data Bank, mental health, minors, do-not-resuscitate orders, end-of-life issues and refusal of blood transfusions. Angie provides compliance and risk management advice to health care facilities, providers and health plans. She also represents physicians, nurses and other health care providers in state licensing board investigations. Additionally, she handles health care litigation involving various issues such as hospital-physician disputes, hospital licensure, and peer review, resolving matters at the trial and the appellate level.
While at Alston & Bird, she has served as both temporary in-house counsel and as national coordinating counsel for two national health care corporations. During 2016-2017, while at the firm, she also served as interim general counsel for a +600 bed academic medical center and health system on a part-time basis. She has been an invited lecturer at Emory Law School on various health law topics. She is also a frequent speaker at health care conferences/seminars on a national and regional level.
News & Media
- “The Legal Burden of Workplace Bullying,” Outpatient Surgery Magazine, February 2017, 27-32.
- “How to Recognize and Handle Potentially Litigious Patients,” The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine, November 2015, 33-35.
- “HIPAA and Ex Parte Interviews—The Beginning of the End?,” 1 J. Health & Life Sci. L. 73, 104–105 (April 2008) (cited by the Georgia Supreme Court in Baker v. WellStar Health System, Inc., et al, 288 Ga. 336, 703 S.E.2d 601 (2010)).
- “Searches of Hospital Patients, Their Rooms and Belongings,” Health Care Law Monthly (October 2012), Vol. 2012, Issue No. 10, 2-9.
Books
- Contributing Author: How to Resolve Patient Complaints To Manage Risk, published by HCPro, Inc. (November 14, 2003).
Overview
- English
- University of Georgia, J.D., graduated 1993
- Georgia, Georgia
- American Health Lawyers’ Association - Member
- Atlanta Bar Association - Member
- Georgia Hospital Association - Member
- State Bar of Georgia - Member, Health Care Section
- English
- Georgia, Georgia
- American Health Lawyers’ Association - Member
- Atlanta Bar Association - Member
- Georgia Hospital Association - Member
- State Bar of Georgia - Member, Health Care Section
- University of Georgia, J.D., graduated 1993
Client Testimonials
Awards & Focus
Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® 2026 for work in:
- Health Care Law
Additional Areas of Practice:
- Corporate Law
Special Focus:
- COVID-19
Awards:
- Alston & Bird Pro Bono Team Award (2013) - For the “A&B Brigade” which organized, packed and shipped care packages to active military personnel during the holidays for several years.
News & Media
Case History
Cases
- HIPAA investigation reveals false allegations by patient
While investigating a patient’s HIPAA complaint, I discovered the alleged perpetrator, an employee at the HIPAA Covered Entity, was innocent. Based on my investigation, the complaint appeared to assert false allegations as a result of a personal dispute, as confirmed through witness interviews and social media. The alleged perpetrator, who the Covered Entity had planned to terminate, was cleared of any wrongdoing and kept her job without any repercussions. The patient was advised of the investigation results and withdrew her complaint. The Covered Entity also suggested that the patient review with her attorney whether she wished to proceed with the OCR complaint she claimed she had filed. While this HIPAA matter involved only one patient (and relatively low exposure to the HIPAA Covered Entity), it was extremely gratifying to uncover the truth and save the employee’s job. While the patient claimed she had contacted OCR, the Covered Entity received no such correspondence or inquiry from OCR. Perhaps the patient withdrew her complaint.
- Assisted hospital in clearing backlog of untested rape kits with coordination of local government agencies
A hospital had a backlog of untested rape kits which had not been picked up by law enforcement for testing. I helped to organize the kits for inventory and pick up by government agencies. I also served as a liaison with county prosecutors and helped to negotiate a working process to help clear the backlog of kits at the hospital on a rolling basis. I helped coordinate a solution for pick up and testing of Georgia rape kits for victims who resided out of state.
While a Georgia law was soon passed to require rape kits to be picked up and tested, our efforts brought about a proactive resolution in advance of that law’s enactment and helped to foster justice and dignity for the rape victims involved. Based on a recent news article, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation has identified 88 suspects out of 979 kits thus far, as it works through the backlog of rape kits submitted by various hospitals in Georgia. See https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/justice-88-suspects-identified-after-gbi-test-old-rape-kits/570222090
While a Georgia law was soon passed to require rape kits to be picked up and tested, our efforts brought about a proactive resolution in advance of that law’s enactment and helped to foster justice and dignity for the rape victims involved. Based on a recent news article, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation has identified 88 suspects out of 979 kits thus far, as it works through the backlog of rape kits submitted by various hospitals in Georgia. See https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/justice-88-suspects-identified-after-gbi-test-old-rape-kits/570222090
- Burrowes vs. Tenet HealthSystem GB, Inc., et al. Georgia Supreme Court Case No. S14C1151 (2014).
The trial court dismissed the physician’s +200 paragraph complaint, the Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed, and the Georgia Supreme Court denied the physician’s petition for writ of certiorari. This litigation victory followed a contentious peer review hearing which we successfully handled at the hospital level. We were especially pleased to obtain a victory at the early stage of the case, rather than having to prepare and file a motion for summary judgment based on HCQIA immunity, which would have involved additional time and resources for the hospital client and individual defendants.
- Identified controlling legal authority to Georgia Supreme Court, which relied on the same in upholding Georgia’s tort reform for hospital ERs.
In a hotly debated case involving Georgia’s new tort reform measures, I wrote an amicus brief to the Georgia Supreme Court on behalf of the Georgia Hospital Association, to support the constitutionality of a gross negligence standard of liability for hospital emergency rooms (ERs). I identified an older Georgia statute and case which established no civil liability for treating pregnant women who presented to hospital ERs unless the hospital or provider was grossly negligent. The Supreme Court’s majority decision relied on the case and statute I identified as part of upholding Georgia’s tort reform. This was an important case in shaping Georgia’s tort reform measures and the scope of immunity available to hospital ERs. Gliemmo v. Cousineau, 287 Ga. 7, 694 S.E.2d 75 (2010) (citing Hospital Care for Pregnant Women Act and Terrell County v. Albany/Dougherty Hosp. Auth., 256 Ga. 627, 352 S.E.2d 378 (1987)).
- Successful resolution of several HIPAA incidents without any penalties or corrective action by OCR
Have handled numerous HIPAA matters and resolved them without penalties or corrective action by OCR, including incidents involving thousands of individuals and including a substantial matter initially reported to OCR by the client as a reportable breach before they contacted us. We were able to show, in hindsight, that the client should not have reported the incident to OCR. These victories are significant in that OCR penalties and corrective action could have been significant, resulted in adverse publicity, and damaged the clients’ trusted brand and reputation.
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