Ingram v. Adena Health System

777 N.E.2d 901, 149 Ohio App. 3d 447
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedSeptember 17, 2002
DocketCase No. 02CA2652.
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 777 N.E.2d 901 (Ingram v. Adena Health System) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ingram v. Adena Health System, 777 N.E.2d 901, 149 Ohio App. 3d 447 (Ohio Ct. App. 2002).

Opinion

Kline, Judge.

{¶ 1} Phillip Prior, M.D. appeals from the Ross County Common Pleas Court’s discovery order, which compelled him to produce (1) the names of any drugs to which he was addicted from 1991 through 1999 and (2) the name of any person, company, or institution that rendered treatment to him for drug or alcohol use, abuse, or addiction from 1991 through 1999. He asserts that this information is statutorily privileged under R.C. 2317.02 and R.C. 3793.13. We disagree because the information requested is not a “communication” that is protected under R.C. 2317.02, and because he waived his R.C. 3793.13 argument by not raising it in the trial court. Finally, he claims that the information requested is not discoverable because of Civ.R. 26. We do not reach this issue because the privilege issue is the only part of the trial court’s order that comports with the definition of “final order” pursuant to R.C. 2505.02(B). Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

I

{¶ 2} George Ingram had his spleen removed, which rendered him more susceptible to the pneumococcal virus. Ingram became infected with the pneu-mococcal virus and lost parts of all four of his limbs by amputation. The infection also caused damage to his kidney, which resulted in a kidney transplant after years of dialysis.

{¶ 3} Ingram filed a complaint in the common pleas court alleging that Dr. Prior, Dr. Kimber Jones, and Adena Health Systems were negligent in failing to administer a pneumococcal vaccination to protect him from postsplenectomy pneumococcal infection. Prior, Jones, and Adena filed an answer denying all allegations of medical negligence and causation.

{¶ 4} During discovery, Ingram requested material concerning Prior’s alleged drug and alcohol rehabilitation. Prior, Jones, and Adena filed a motion for protective order or in the alternative to quash subpoenas, which were aimed at securing this information. They objected on the basis that the information Ingram sought was protected by the physician-patient privilege contained in R.C. 2317.02. Eventually, Prior, Jones, and Adena filed a notice of appeal in our court. We held that the issue was not a final appealable order pursuant to R.C. 2505.02. *450 Ingram v. Adena Health Sys. (2001), 144 Ohio App.3d 603, 761 N.E.2d 72. Specifically, we determined that the “substantial rights” requirement would be met only after an in-camera inspection and subsequent order from the trial court compelling disclosure.

{¶ 5} On remand the trial court followed our instructions and issued a journal entry, dated February 15, 2002, which compels Prior to produce the following:

{¶ 6} “5. The names of any drugs to which Dr. Prior was addicted to from 1991 through 1999.

{¶ 7} “6. The name of any person, company or institution that rendered treatment to Dr. Prior for drug or alcohol use, abuse or addiction from 1991 through 1999.”

{¶ 8} Prior appeals from the trial court’s order and asserts the following two assignments of error: (1) “The Trial Court erred in ordering Defendant-Appellant Phillip Prior, M.D. to produce the names of health care providers, which were statutorily privileged pursuant to Ohio Revised Code [Sections] 2317.02 and 3793.13.” (2) “The Trial Court erred in ordering Defendant-Appellant Phillip Prior, M.D. to produce the names of any substances to which Dr. Prior may have been addicted, which is statutorily privileged pursuant to Ohio Revised Code [Sections] 2317.02 and 3793.13.”

II

{¶ 9} Prior argues in both assignments of error that he does not have to produce the names of (1) health care providers or (2) drugs to which he was addicted, because this information falls under the physician-patient privilege in R.C. 2317.02(B). Prior asserts that he would have communicated the name of any substance to which he was addicted “to the treatment professionals and would have done so solely for the purposes of diagnosis and treatment.” Ingram claims that the names he seeks in discovery are not privileged because the names are not “communications” as that word is used in R.C. 2317.02. Ingram maintains that R.C. 2317.02(B) protects only communications, not the underlying facts. We agree with Ingram.

{¶ 10} We review a trial court’s discovery ruling under an' abuse-of-discretion standard. See, e.g., Tracy v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals (1991), 58 Ohio St.3d 147, 569 N.E.2d 875. “Regulation of pre-trial discovery matters concerning privilege is also governed by an abuse of discretion standard.” Wagner v. Marietta Area Health Care, Inc. (Mar. 16, 2001), Washington App. No. 00CA17, 2001 WL 301423.

{¶ 11} R.C. 2317.02(B)(1) provides that a physician may not testify as to “a communication made to the physician or dentist by a patient in that relation or *451 the physician’s * * * advice to a patient.” R.C. 2317.02(B)(5)(a) states the following:

{¶ 12} “As used in divisions (B)(1) to (4) of this section, ‘communication’ means acquiring, recording, or transmitting any information, in any manner, concerning any facts, opinions, or statements necessary to enable a physician or dentist to diagnose, treat, prescribe, or act for a patient. A ‘communication’ may include, but is not limited to, any medical or dental, office, or hospital communication such as a record, chart, letter, memorandum, laboratory test and results, x-ray, photograph, financial statement, diagnosis, or prognosis.”

{¶ 13} The Ohio Supreme Court has held that R.C. 2317.02 must be strictly construed. Weis v. Weis (1947), 147 Ohio St. 416, 34 O.O. 350, 72 N.E.2d 245, paragraph four of the syllabus (discussing G.C. 11494, the predecessor to R.C. 2317.02[B]). R.C. 2317.02 “does not prevent testimony by a physician as to the fact that he was consulted in a professional capacity by a person on a certain date.” Jenkins v. Metro. Life Ins. Co (1961), 171 Ohio St. 557, 15 O.O.2d 14, 173 N.E.2d 122, paragraph two of the syllabus. The Jenkins court stated that R.C. 2317.02 applies only to “communications.”

{¶ 14} The attorney-client privilege cases apply to the physician-patient privilege cases because R.C. 2317.02 confers both privileges. The attorney-client privilege does not prevent disclosure of the underlying fact, it only protects against compelled disclosure of the communications. State v. Hoop (1999), 134 Ohio App.3d 627, 640, 731 N.E.2d 1177; Tyes v. St. Luke’s Hosp. (Dec. 2, 1993), Cuyahoga App. No. 65394, 1993 WL 497026. Likewise, the federal attorney-client privilege does not prevent disclosure of the underlying fact; it only prevents disclosure of the communications. Upjohn Co. v. United States (1981), 449 U.S. 383, 395, 101 S.Ct. 677, 66 L.Ed.2d 584.

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Bluebook (online)
777 N.E.2d 901, 149 Ohio App. 3d 447, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ingram-v-adena-health-system-ohioctapp-2002.