Court Opinion

ID: 9684138
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 13:47:43.868477+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:17:53.210287
License: Public Domain

*389STRINGER, Justice
(concurring specially).
I concur with the result of the majority and much of its reasoning as to the strong policy and intent behind Minn.Stat. § 145.64 (1998). I write separately because I believe the statute is clearly unambiguous and that the appellants are not entitled to the information they seek in the absence of legal proceedings challenging an adverse action regarding their medical staff privileges, membership or participation status. The trial court correctly analyzed the statute and appropriately concluded that the phrase “requesting or seeking through discovery” should be read as a unitary reference to efforts to obtain information through discovery in judicial proceedings. Minn.Stat. § 145.64, subd. 2. The reference in the next sentence to admissibility of the information “in any other judicial proceeding” gives further support to this conclusion. See id. (emphasis added). Applied accordingly, the statute is clear and consistent with the policy to accord confidentiality to medical review organizations, and we need not be concerned with the legislative proceedings or statutory history.