Medical Society of New Jersey v. Mottola

National Practitioner Data Bank

Medical Society
of New Jersey v. Mottola, Civ. No. 04-2126 (WGB) (D.N.J. June 8, 2004)

The
United States District Court for the District of New Jersey upheld the constitutionality
of a state statute that requires that medical malpractice data regarding physicians
and podiatrists be made available to the public on the Internet and via a toll-free
telephone line. The court also refused to enjoin an order of a state court
judge that malpractice data that had been reported to the state was a public
record, and could thus be disclosed to a newspaper under the state’s open records
law. In reaching its decision, the federal court noted that the confidentiality
provisions of the Health Care Quality Improvement Act ("HCQIA") do
not protect data that is reported directly to state agencies, even if the data
reported to the state agency is identical to that which is reported to the
National Practitioner Data Bank. Also, the court found that the HCQIA does
not give private individuals a right to sue government officials under 42 U.S.C. §1983
for alleged violations of their right to privacy.