Attorney David E. Clark comments:
Doctor-patient confidentiality is something we all rely on. The problem is, it’s not the law in Georgia.
If you go to the hospital after an allergic reaction to an illegal drug, or even someone else’s prescribed Vicodin, you have a choice: Tell the doctor what drug you took, and maybe go to jail, or keep that information to yourself and maybe die.
You see, police are allowed to get a search warrant for your private hospital records if they simply tell a part-time judge that they think you were DUI or guilty of possessing a controlled substance.
On Monday, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed that Georgia law permits them to do so. In a unanimous decision, our highest court ruled that a law protecting “private papers” against search warrants covers only those papers in your possession and those that belong to you.
Read more in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
This is a good reminder that there are no federal laws protecting doctor-patient confidentiality or doctor-patient privilege and that state laws vary on this.