PPSV Represents 28 State and National Mental Health Organizations in Important Medical Privacy Case

October 20, 2006

On Friday, October 20, 2006, James C. Pyles of Powers, Pyles Sutter & Verville PC filed an amicus curiae brief on behalf of the 28 state and national mental health practitioner and patient organizations listed below in a case pending before the Maryland Court of Special Appeals entitled Maryland State Board of Physicians v. Harold I. Eist, M.D., Case No. 00329. The amicus brief supports a prominent psychiatrist who delayed in turning over the psychiatric records of a mother and her two minor children to the Maryland Board of Physicians. The patients strongly objected to the disclosure because the subpoena was issued in response to a complaint filed by the estranged husband who was involved in a bitter divorce and child custody proceeding with the mother. The complaint against the psychiatrist was found to be without merit, but the Board still sought to sanction and fine the psychiatrist because he complied with the wishes of his patients and adhered to his standards of professional ethics. The Maryland Board of Physicians has taken the position that the patients' wishes and standards of professional ethics are secondary considerations when investigating a complaint. The Circuit Court has twice overturned the Board’s sanction of the physician, and the state now seeks to have the Circuit Court decisions reversed. The 28 associations represented in the amicus curiae brief support the affirmance of the Circuit Court decisions because it is consistent with the patients' constitutionally protected rights to privacy and established standards of medical ethics. These organizations are participating in the amicus brief because they believe that the Maryland Board's policy jeopardizes access to quality psychiatric care across the country.

Powers Pyles Sutter & Verville is a Washington, DC-based law firm that focuses on healthcare, education, and the law of tax-exempt organizations. Mr. Pyles is an authority on the Privacy Rule and the 2002 Advocate of the Year for the Washington Psychiatric Association.

Interveners in Maryland State Board of Physicians v. Harold I. Eist, M.D.,

Case No. 00329:

Washington Psychiatric Society

American Association of Practicing Psychiatrists

American Psychiatric Association

American Psychoanalytic Association

American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Psychodynamic Psychiatry

American Association for Social Psychiatry

Association of American Physicians & Surgeons, Inc.

Baltimore-Washington Psychoanalytic Society

Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Society of Greater Washington

Delmarva Psychiatry Group, Inc.

JustHealth

Maryland Psychiatric Society

Maryland State Medical Society

Massachusetts Psychiatric Society

Mississippi Psychiatric Association

National Alliance of the Mentally Ill, Delaware

National Association of Social Workers

National Association of Social Workers, Maryland Chapter

National Coalition of Mental Health Professionals and Consumers

New Jersey Psychiatric Association

Oklahoma Psychiatric Physicians’ Association

Patient Privacy Rights

Program in Psychiatry and the Law, Beth Israel Deaconess

Medical Center, Harvard Medical School

Psychiatric Society of Delaware

Psychiatric Society of Virginia

Psychoanalytic Institute of New England East (PINE)

Suburban Maryland Psychiatric Society

Vermont Psychiatric Association