A person authorized to practice
medicine, surgery or obstetrics cannot in a civil case, without the consent of
the patient, be examined as to any advice or treatment given by him or any
information which he may have acquired in attending such patient in a
professional capacity, which information was necessary to enable him to act in
that capacity, and which would blacken the reputation of the patient [Rule
130, Sec. 24(c)]
Requisites:
1. Physician is authorized to practice medicine,
surgery or obstetrics
2. Information was acquired or the advice or
treatment was given by him in his professional capacity for the purpose of
treating or curing the patient
3. Information, advice or treatment, if revealed,
would blacken the reputation of the patient
4. Privilege is invoked in a civil case, whether
the patient is a party thereto or not
Does not apply where:
1. Communication not given in confidence
2. Communication is irrelevant to the professional
employment
3. Communication was made for an unlawful purpose, as when it is intended for the commission or concealment of a crime;
4. Information was intended to be made public
5. There was a waiver of the privilege either by
provisions of contract or law.
Waivers of the
physician-patient privilege, cross-reference Rule 28, Sec. 3 and 4
The results of the physical and mental examination
of a person, when ordered by the court, are intended to be made public; hence
they can be divulged in that proceeding and cannot be objected to on the ground
of privilege. Also results of autopsies or post-mortem examinations are
generally intended to be divulged in court, aside from the fact that the doctor’s
services were not for purposes of medical treatment.
If the party examined obtains a report on said
examination or takes the deposition of the examiner, he thereby waives any
privilege regarding any other examination of said physical or mental condition
conducted or to be conducted on him by any other physician.
● Only persons authorized to practice medicine, surgery
or obstetrics are covered by the privilege. Hence, nurses, midwives and other
people who attend to the ill can be called to testify as to any matter.
● Note that the patient need not be the source of the
information.
● Not necessary that the relationship was created
by the voluntary act of the patient – may have been acquired by another. (e.g.
patient in extremis)
● Privilege extends to all forms of communication,
advice or treatment. Includes information acquired by the physician through his
observations and examinations of the patient.
● The privilege does not cover expert opinion as long as
the witness does not testify to matters specifically referring to the patient.
● There is no physician-patient privilege in criminal
cases.
de Leon: What about
civil cases impliedly instituted with criminal cases?
● A patient’s husband is not prohibited from testifying
on a report prepared by his wife’s psychiatrist since he is not the treating
physician (although it would be hearsay).
● A physician is not prohibited from giving expert
testimony in response to a strictly hypothetical question in a lawsuit
involving the physical or mental condition of a patient he has treated
professionally.
Cases
Lim v. CA, 214 SCRA 273
(1992) The physician-patient privilege is not violated by permitting physician
to give expert testimony regarding hypothetical facts.
Krohn v. CA, 233 SCRA 146
(1994) Non-physician testimony on a medical psychologist’s report is not
covered by the physician patient privilege. This is hearsay but there was no
objection.
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