Good article came out today.
http://www.salon.com/env/vital_signs/2009/07/13/dr_arnold_klein/index.html?source=newsletter
Snippet:
it struck me as bizarre that Klein (who is himself on staff at UCLA) went public about Jackson. What made it even more unusual was that on June 30, Klein's attorney, Richard Charnley, released a statement requesting privacy that directly referenced HIPAA:
"Dr. Klein is aware of media reports connecting him to Michael Jackson. Because of patient confidentiality, Dr. Klein will make no statement on any reports or allegations. Out of respect for his patients and adherence to federal HIPAA regulations, Dr. Klein asks that the media not contact him or his patients, nor interfere with their medical treatments. Like millions of Michael's fans around the world, Dr. Klein is saddened by Michael's death and extends his condolences to the family."
Klein seemed to have had it right -- before he went on "Larry King Live." And HIPAA does apply to deceased individuals. "It doesn't matter whether a patient is dead or alive -- the HIPAA and state privacy law protections still apply," Stephen K. Phillips, a healthcare attorney in San Francisco, told me. "A deceased patient's rights accrue to his/her legal representative for enforcement and redress purposes."
At the same time, said Phillips, it's possible that Jackson may have given Klein permission to discuss his PHI, or private health information, in public. In that case, Phillips said, "you haven't violated the law by doing so, unless and until that authorization is withdrawn." I tried to contact Klein to clarify these important points several times, but never received a response. His attorney didn't get back to me either.
Whatever the case, Klein most certainly violated something fundamental -- common decency. A dead man's supposedly close friend, a doctor, goes on prime-time TV to eulogize him. "For about five hours, I couldn't move, because I was very close to him," Klein told King. His tribute then turns into his very own "Michael and Me" medical memoir, biopsy results included. It's the kind of jabbering that gives Hollywood and cable news a bad name, although most of us don't flinch at that anymore. But this time I had to flinch. By epitomizing the limousine-chasing, wannabe-celebrity doctor, Klein bruised the reputation of his colleagues everywhere.
