_______________________________________________

                                           ENGROSSED HOUSE BILL NO. 878

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              50th Legislature                              1987 Regular Session

By Representatives Crane, Miller, Armstrong, Heavey, Scott, Appelwick, Wang, Wineberry, P. King and Niemi

Read first time 2/13/87 and referred to Committee on Judiciary.

AN ACT Relating to the physician-patient privilege; and amending RCW 5.60.060.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

        Sec. 1.  Section 294, page 187, Laws of 1854 as last amended by section 101, chapter 305, Laws of 1986 and RCW 5.60.060 are each amended to read as follows:

          (1) A husband shall not be examined for or against his wife, without the consent of the wife, nor a wife for or against her husband without the consent of the husband; nor can either during marriage or afterward, be without the consent of the other, examined as to any communication made by one to the other during marriage.  But this exception shall not apply to a civil action or proceeding by one against the other, nor to a criminal action or proceeding for a crime committed by one against the other, nor to a criminal action or proceeding against a spouse if the marriage occurred subsequent to the filing of formal charges against the defendant, nor to a criminal action or proceeding for a crime committed by said husband or wife against any child of whom said husband or wife is the parent or guardian, nor to a proceeding under chapter 71.05 RCW:  PROVIDED, That the spouse of a person sought to be detained under chapter 71.05 RCW may not be compelled to testify and shall be so informed by the court prior to being called as a witness.

          (2) An attorney or counselor shall not, without the consent of his client, be examined as to any communication made by the client to him, or his advice given thereon in the course of professional employment.

          (3) A clergyman or priest shall not, without the consent of a person making the confession, be examined as to any confession made to him in his professional character, in the course of discipline enjoined by the church to which he belongs.

          (4) A physician or surgeon or osteopathic physician or surgeon shall not, without the consent of his patient, be examined in a civil action as to any information acquired in attending such patient, which was necessary to enable him to prescribe or act for the patient, except as follows:

          (a) In any judicial proceedings regarding a child's injury, neglect, or sexual abuse or the cause thereof; and

          (b) ((Within)) Ninety days ((of)) after filing an action for personal injuries or wrongful death, the claimant shall ((elect whether or not)) be deemed to waive the physician-patient privilege.  ((If the claimant does not waive the physician-patient privilege, the claimant may not put his or her mental or physical condition or that of his or her decedent or beneficiaries in issue and may not waive the privilege later in the proceedings.))  Waiver of the physician-patient privilege for any one physician or condition constitutes a waiver of the privilege as to all physicians or conditions, subject to such limitations as a court may impose pursuant to court rules.  Information obtained by a party to an action through informal discovery or ex parte contact with a patient's treating physician may be disclosed by the party only to the other parties to the action, witnesses, its insurer, the trier of fact, and the court.  Disclosure to additional persons may be made only upon court order.

          (5) A public officer shall not be examined as a witness as to communications made to him in official confidence, when the public interest would suffer by the disclosure.