
By: David Bloomberg
Re: Psychiatrist can be tested

From: romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu!prodigy.com!BSAK18A  (MR ROGER L WHITE)
To: MIT.EDU!witchhunt


MINNEAPOLIS-ST.PAUL TRIBUNE - 12/20/94

COURT SAYS ST. PAUL PSYCHIATRIST IN MEMORY CASE CAN BE TESTED -

A St. Paul psychiatrist whom former patients accuse of inducing false
memories can be ordered to undergo tests to determine her fitness to
practice medicine, the Minnesota Court of Appeals has ruled.

Dr. Dianne Humenansky's constitutional rights of privacy and due process
are not violated by a state order that she undergo a 5-day inpatient mental
and physical examination, a 3-judge panel said in a decision filed today.
The Appeals Court panel also ruled that a law giving the state Board of
Medical Examiners authority to require such exams is not unconstitutionally
vague.

Emil Villaume, Humenansky's attorney, said he will appeal the case to the
Minnesota Supreme Court.  "I obviously don't agree with the decision.  I
think what they are doing to her is unconstitutional, and nothing in this
decision changes my mind,"  he said.  Humenansky has continued to practice
medicine while awaiting the outcome of the legal battle.  Five of her
former female patients have sued her, saying that she improperly diagnosed
multiple personalities and that she insisted that they recall being
sexually abused by male relatives.  The Board of Medical Examiners ordered
Humenansky to undergo medical exams in January after a state consultant
concluded that she committed serious breaches of the physician-patient
relationship.  She filed a lawsuit to stop the exams, arguing that they
represent an unconstitutional violation of her privacy.  Villaume also
argued that state officials should prove that Humenansky has committed
breaches of professional standards before she is ordered to undergo tests.

Ramsey County Chief District Judge Kenneth Fitzgerald ruled in May that the
law under which the medical exams were ordered is not unconstitutional.
The Appeals Court agreed and rejected Humenansky's claim that her due
process rights are being violated, saying her medical license is not
immediately jeopardized by the order.  She also has a right to a hearing
before the state board can take disciplinary action against her, the court
noted.  The court also said that Humenansky's privacy rights are outweighed
by the state's "compelling interest" to protect the public against doctors
who cannot practice medicine safely.



