Section 23.41 Physician-Patient Privilege

• Library: Criminal Practice 2012 Supp

B. (§23.41) Physician-Patient Privilege

The physician-patient statutory privilege applies to licensed physicians, chiropractors, psychologists, and dentists and their patients. Section 491.060(5), RSMo 2000. The privileged information must have been acquired while the doctor was attending the patient in a professional character, and the information must be necessary for the treatment of the patient. State v. Henderson, 824 S.W.2d 445, 450 (Mo. App. E.D. 1991). The person claiming the privilege has the burden to show the necessity. Id. The privilege extends to a nurse if the nurse is acting under the direction of a physician or is assisting the doctor in the treatment. Id.

The physician-patient privilege is not absolute; it must give way if there is a stronger countervailing societal interest. State ex rel. Health Midwest Dev. Group, Inc. v. Daugherty, 965 S.W.2d 841, 844 (Mo. banc 1998). Indeed, courts should strictly construe statutes creating privileges. Id. at 843. Accordingly, peer-review-committee documents are not privileged. Id. at 844.

Any information that a physician acquires from a patient that is necessary to provide treatment is...