Popp v. Crittenton Hosp

In Popp v. Crittenton Hosp, 181 Mich. App. 662; 449 N.W.2d 678 (1989), a medical malpractice patient alleged that the defendants, a hospital and a physician, were negligent in failing to promptly conduct a computerized axial tomography (CAT) scan when the plaintiff came to the emergency room. The physician testified that another patient was under the CAT scan when the plaintiff arrived. The plaintiff sought discovery of the other patient's medical records to determine which patient deserved priority. The trial court denied the request. Id., 665. Citing Schechet, this Court upheld the trial court's decision because the physician-patient privilege is an "absolute bar prohibiting the disclosure of even the names of patients who are not involved in the litigation." Id. The Court stated that "the information sought was protected by a physician-patient privilege held by someone not a party to the lawsuit who did not waive his privilege." Id.