May Insurer Compel Doctor to Disclose Non-Party Patient Medical Records in Insurance Fraud Suit?
Medical Mutual of Ohio v. William Schlotterer, D.O., Case no. 2008-0598 8th District Court of Appeals (Cuyahoga County) ISSUE: Under the Supreme Court of Ohio’s 1999 holding in Biddle v. Warren General Hospital, does litigation in which an insurer alleges that a medical practitioner has engaged in insurance fraud constitute a “special situation” in which the statutory privilege afforded to patients’ confidential medical records is outweighed by the interests of the public and insurers in obtaining and examining non-party patient records? BACKGROUND: Based on a review of its billing records, Medical Mutual of Ohio suspected that Dr. William Schlotterer of Cleveland had overbilled the insurer for services he provided to patients covered by Medical Mutual health plans. Pursuant to the standard participation agreement it enters into with all covered service providers, Medical Mutual asked Schlotterer to provide it with information from the treatment records of patients whose treatment had
