In any event, an exception is necessary for the effective utilization of this important and growing procedure. The exception, it will be observed, deals with a court ordered examination rather than with a court appointed psychotherapist. Also, the exception is effective only with respect to the particular purpose for which the examination is ordered. The rule thus conforms with the provisions of 18 U.S.C. 4244 that no statement made by the accused in the course of an examination into competency to stand trial is admissible on the issue of guilt and of 42 U.S.C. 3420 that a physician conducting an examination in a drug addiction commitment proceeding is a competent and compellable witness. By injecting his condition into litigation, the patient must be said to waive the privilege, in fairness and to avoid abuses.
Similar considerations prevail after the patient's death.