National groups weigh in on (SD) surgeon's legal drama

A South Dakota law that protects doctors and hospitals from releasing records in medical malpractice lawsuits should not apply if there’s evidence that health providers committed a crime or fraud, lawyers for two national advocacy groups argue. AARP and Public Citizen both filed amicus briefs with the South Dakota Supreme Court last week arguing that a medical peer review privilege should not be absolute. Medical peer review laws generally protect health providers from releasing records generated by peer review committees.