Murphy v. Wood

667 P.2d 859, 105 Idaho 180, 1983 Ida. App. LEXIS 250
CourtIdaho Court of Appeals
DecidedJuly 27, 1983
Docket14434
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 667 P.2d 859 (Murphy v. Wood) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Murphy v. Wood, 667 P.2d 859, 105 Idaho 180, 1983 Ida. App. LEXIS 250 (Idaho Ct. App. 1983).

Opinions

SWANSTROM, Judge.

In 1973 the Idaho Legislature enacted a medical privilege and immunity statute offering protection from disclosure and use at trial of certain records of in-hospital medical staff committees and medical societies engaged in research, discipline and medical study. Now two doctors, who are being sued in a malpractice action, are trying to overcome the statutory privilege so they might be able, at trial, to introduce evidence favorable to their defense. The district court ruled against them. The judge barred discovery of and future use at trial of certain records, statements and activities of a hospital medical staff committee. The two doctors appeal from the interlocutory orders. We affirm, but with modification.

This appeal involves the district judge’s interpretation of the statute (I.C. §§ 39-1392 to -1392e) and his application of the law to the unusual circumstances of this case.

The facts are yet- to be established. However, a brief summary of the parties’ allegations will help to understand the specific issues. In 1978, Alyce Murphy was examined and found to have cervical cancer. On July 11, her physician, Dr. Wood, participated in a meeting of the Cassia Memorial Tumor Board. The tumor board meets monthly at Cassia Memorial Hospital to discuss cancer cases currently being treated by staff physicians. The membership of the board includes not only local physicians but cancer experts from the University of Utah Medical Center and the LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City. Dr. Wood [182]*182alleges that he presented the facts of Alyce Murphy’s case to the board, and that the board recommended a hysterectomy.

Dr. Wood later performed a hysterectomy. Dr. Kassis assisted in the operation by helping prepare Alyce Murphy for surgery. Alyce Murphy alleges that following the operation she suffered from a deterioration of both memory and speech. She attributes these problems to complications arising from the operation. She alleges that her prior illnesses and poor physical condition made surgery a risky form of treatment for her cancer. In part, her complaint against Drs. Wood and Kassis is that the doctors were negligent in performing surgery when an alternative, radiation therapy, would have been as effective and less risky. She also claims that Dr. Wood, a general practitioner, breached the standard of care in the Burley area by failing to obtain a second, expert opinion before operating.

To defend against these claims, Dr. Wood wants to offer evidence at the trial that he did seek a second opinion when he presented Alyce Murphy’s case to the tumor board, and that the board recommended a hysterectomy. Dr. Wood contends that it is the standard of care in the Burley area for general practitioners, in treating cancer cases, to seek recommendations from the board as a substitute for a consultation with a specialist. Drs. Wood and Kassis argue that they will not be able to fully defend themselves against Alyce Murphy’s charges unless they can present evidence relating to the July 11 meeting.

The Murphys have also sued the tumor board for its alleged recommendation of surgery. Initially the Murphys attempted, through the discovery process, to take the deposition of doctors who participated in the July 11 meeting of the tumor board. Later the Murphys abandoned these attempts and filed a motion in limine to bar the admission of any evidence relating to the Cassia Memorial Tumor Board’s meeting of July 11. Only Drs. Wood and Kassis opposed the Murphys’ motion. The other defendants, relying upon the statutory privilege that we discuss more fully later, joined the Murphys in urging the court to rule that the statute barred the disclosure and use of the evidence the two doctors were seeking. The court granted the Murphys’ motion in limine. Later, after Drs. Wood and Kassis moved for reconsideration, the court affirmed its earlier order and issued a protective order precluding the discovery of evidence relating to the meeting. By certification the Supreme Court has permitted Drs. Wood and Kassis to appeal from these interlocutory orders.

The policy of the Idaho statute is set out in I.C. § 39-1392:

To encourage research, discipline and medical study by in-hospital medical staff committees and recognized medical societies for the purposes of reducing morbidity and mortality, enforcing and improving the standards of medical practice in the state of Idaho, certain records of such committees and societies shall be confidential and privileged as set forth in this chapter.

Idaho Code § 39 — 13921) provides in part:

Except as provided in § 39-1392e, all written records of interviews, all reports, statements, minutes, memoranda, charts, and the contents thereof, and all physical materials relating to research, discipline or medical study of any in-hospital medical staff committees or medical society, for the purposes set forth in section 39-1392, shall be confidential and privileged, and shall not directly or indirectly [be] subject to subpoena or discovery proceedings or be admitted as evidence, nor shall testimony relating thereto be admitted in evidence, or in any action of any kind in any court or before any administrative body, agency or person for any purpose whatsoever.... [Emphasis added.]

Drs. Wood and Kassis argue that the evidentiary privilege established by I.C. § 39-1392b does not apply to cases where the hospital medical staff committee recommends to a physician a course of treatment for a particular patient. Drs. Wood and Kassis contend that the privilege only applies where the medical staff committee is pursuing “research, discipline and medical [183]*183study.” They assert that the committee was not so engaged in those purposes when it discussed Alyce Murphy’s case on July 11, 1978 and made specific recommendations for her treatment. This activity, they assert, was but a part of the process of the patient’s care and the statute should not even apply. We will address this threshold question first.

WHETHER THE ACT APPLIES

The trial judge found that the tumor board meeting of July 11,1978, was a meeting of an in-hospital medical staff committee, conducted for the purposes of research and medical study. He viewed the privilege statute as one providing a comprehensive exclusion not limited to retrospective disciplinary hearings, but extending broadly to records and findings of an in-hospital medical staff committee engaging in research and medical study. The judge concluded that the activities of the board came within the statute and were privileged.

The judge’s findings are supported by substantial, competent evidence in the record. That record includes the deposition of Dr. Wood and affidavits of other participants in the board’s meetings. The affidavit of Dr. Kircher, then chairman of the tumor conference (board), stated in part:

The Tumor Conference was established to conform with educational guidelines of the American College of Surgeons, Commission on Cancer, as a continuing medical education program, to educate, train and assist physicians in caring for cancer patients....

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Related

Murphy v. Wood
667 P.2d 859 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 1983)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
667 P.2d 859, 105 Idaho 180, 1983 Ida. App. LEXIS 250, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/murphy-v-wood-idahoctapp-1983.