No person, duly authorized to practice under Article 1 of Chapter 90 of the General Statutes, shall be required to disclose any information which he may have acquired in attending a patient in a professional character, and which information was necessary to enable him to prescribe for such patient as a physician, or to do any act for him as a surgeon, and no such information shall be considered public records under G.S. 132-1. Confidential information obtained in medical records shall be furnished only on the authorization of the patient, or if deceased, the executor, administrator, or, in the case of unadministered estates, the next of kin. Any resident or presiding judge in the district, either at the trial or prior thereto, or the Industrial Commission pursuant to law may, subject to G.S. 8-53.6, compel disclosure if in his opinion disclosure is necessary to a proper administration of justice. If the case is in district court the judge shall be a district court judge, and if the case is in superior court the judge shall be a superior court judge. (1885, c. 159; Rev., s. 1621; C.S., s. 1798; 1969, c. 914; 1977, c. 1118; 1983, c. 410, ss. 1, 2; c. 471; 2019-191, s. 41.)
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
103
cases (
5 in the last 5 years), 1947–2026 · leading case:
State v. Etheridge, 352 S.E.2d 673 (N.C. 1987).
State v. Etheridge, 352 S.E.2d 673 (N.C. 1987).
· cites it 32× “e husband-wife privilege shall be grounds for excluding evidence of abuse or neglect in any judicial proceeding (civil, criminal, or juvenile) in which a juvenile's abuse or neglect is in issue nor in any judicial proceeding resulting from a report submitted under this Article,…”
Midkiff v. Compton, 693 S.E.2d 172 (N.C. Ct. App. 2010).
· cites it 30× “" Plaintiff further asserted that the information sought was protected by the physician-patient privilege set forth under N.C. Gen.Stat. § 8-53 (2009). Without waiving the foregoing objection, Plaintiff provided three exhibits containing Plaintiff's medical records from Carteret…”
Crist v. Moffatt, 389 S.E.2d 41 (N.C. 1990).
· cites it 14× “See N.C.G.S. § 8-53 (1986). Upon being questioned by plaintiff’s attorney, Mr.”
In Re the Investigation of the Death of Miller, 584 S.E.2d 772 (N.C. 2003).
· cites it 9× “In N.C.G.S. § 8-53, the General Assembly has established the privilege for confidential communications between physician and patient, providing that confidential information obtained in such a relationship shall be furnished only on the authorization of the patient or, if…”
Cates v. Wilson, 361 S.E.2d 734 (N.C. 1987).
· cites it 11× “N.C.G.S. § 8-53 provides, in pertinent part: No person, duly authorized to practice physic or surgery, shall be required to disclose any information which he may have acquired in attending a patient in a professional character, and which information was necessary to enable him…”
LOWD v. Reynolds, 695 S.E.2d 479 (N.C. Ct. App. 2010).
· cites it 19× “Confidential information obtained in medical records shall be furnished only on the authorization of the patient, or if deceased, the executor, administrator, or, in the case of unadministered estates, the next of kin.”
State v. Smith, 789 S.E.2d 873 (N.C. Ct. App. 2016).
· cites it 21× “Defendant further argues the trial court erroneously admitted the medical records in violation of the physician-patient privilege, N.C. Gen.Stat. § 8-53, and certain health information disclosure provisions in N.”
Mims v. Wright, 578 S.E.2d 606 (N.C. Ct. App. 2003).
· cites it 11× “Defendant’s medical records are protected by N.C. Gen. Stat. § 8-53 , which sets forth the physician-patient privilege.”
Sims v. Charlotte Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., 125 S.E.2d 326 (N.C. 1962).
· cites it 12× “The next inquiry is whether or not the hospital records are privileged under the provisions of G.S. § 8-53 and therefore inadmissible. At common law communications from patients to physicians are not privileged.”
State v. Efird, 309 S.E.2d 228 (N.C. 1983).
· cites it 13× “The applicable statute relating to the physician-patient privilege is N.C. Gen. Stat. § 8-53 . However, we have determined that N.”
State v. Fullwood, 373 S.E.2d 518 (N.C. 1988).
· cites it 6× “N.C.G.S. § 8-53 (1986) (emphasis added). The privilege thus "is not absolute; it is qualified by the statute itself.”
Shelton v. Morehead Mem'l Hosp., 347 S.E.2d 824 (N.C. 1986).
· cites it 6× “Defendants assert on appeal, not having relied on either ground in the trial court, that any information or documents relating to peer reviews of the individual physicians not protected under § 95 are immune from discovery and use as evidence under a common law privilege and the…”
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