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Doctors' Union Challenges Medical Board in Court
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 24, 1998
The Union of American Physicians and Dentists (UAPD) privacy lawsuit against the Medical Board of California (MBC) will be heard on Wednesday, February 25th, in San Francisco Superior Court.
"The MBC is seeking to post doctors' names and addresses on the internet regardless of safety and privacy concerns," said Robert L. Weinmann, M.D., President of the UAPD. The Medical Board claims it has statutory authority to place doctors' names and addresses on the internet despite the privacy and safety concerns brought up by the UAPD. The UAPD pointed out that several of their doctors work side by side with peace officers in correctional institutions and that the peace officers' addresses are not revealed. Neither should the doctors' addresses be revealed, the UAPD argued. When the Medical Board first undertook this action in the summer of 1997 UAPD President Robert Weinmann, M.D., and UAPD Executive Director Gary Robinson accused the Medical Board of "reckless behavior." The Medical Board initially responded by removing the doctors' names and addresses from the internet only to recant this decision and try again.
This latter action resulted in the UAPD's filing a lawsuit against the Medical Board. The UAPD claimed that the California Public Records Act, the California Information Practices Act, and other legal precedents precluded the Medical Board from exposing doctors and their families to danger by helping criminals and others obtain their addresses.
UAPD President Robert Weinmann, M.D., declared that "the Medical Board behaved recklessly and put doctors and their families in harm's way. The UAPD was obliged to file this lawsuit to protect the safety of California's physicians and their families." UAPD Executive Director Gary Robinson said "the Medical Board has become a runaway bureaucracy. It take litigation to put the brakes on their extravagant carelessness."
The UAPD, an independent labor union for physicians and dentists, is based in Oakland, CA. The UAPD has about 5,000 members and is affiliated with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) whose membership is 1.3 million including 8,000 physicians. AFSCME is the second largest union in the AFL-CIO.
contact: Dr. Robert Weinmann, UAPD president (510) 839-0193 or (408) 292-0804
Gary Robinson, UAPD executive director (510) 839-0193
Elias Castillo, UAPD public affairs director (650) 368-5322
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