'Doctor-Shopping' Case

LIMBAUGH'S DOCS FACE QUIZ

A Palm Beach County judge allows subpoenas of Rush Limbaugh's
doctors, with restrictions.

A Palm Beach Circuit judge allowed prosecutors to query Rush
Limbaugh's physicians, but limited what they can ask them as part of
a prescription-drug abuse investigation.

Authorities suspect that the conservative radio talk-show host had
been "doctor shopping" -- illegally seeking multiple prescriptions
from different doctors -- after learning he had obtained
prescriptions for more than 2,000 pills from four different doctors
in six months. While Limbaugh, 54, has admitted an addiction to
pills, he has not been charged with a crime.

The syndicated commentator, a resident of Palm Beach, has been in the
spotlight over his alleged illegal use of painkillers for more than two years.

In a 15-page decision, Judge David F. Crow limited the scope of what
prosecutors can ask Limbaugh's doctors.

Interrogation, he wrote, shall not include "discussion of the medical
condition of the patient and any information disclosed to the
healthcare practitioner by the patient in the course of the care and
treatment of the patient."

Bruce Winick, a professor at the University of Miami School of Law,
called the ruling "rather ambiguous" and predicted it would launch
another round of litigation.

"It's an attempt to protect the privacy of patients and, in a sense,
seems to be an attempt to balance the interests of both parties,"
Winick said. 'Will it allow prosecutors to ask doctors, 'Did you
prescribe that?' Does that reveal anything about the patient's condition?"

"The court allowed us to proceed, within the constraints of present
law," Mike Edmondson, a spokesman for the state attorney in Palm
Beach County, told the Associated Press.

Limbaugh's attorney, Roy Black of Miami, cheered the ruling. "We've
said from the start that there was no doctor shopping, but Mr.
Limbaugh should not have to give up his right to doctor-patient
confidentiality to prove his innocence," Black said in a prepared
statement. "The medical records that the State has seized and
reviewed now for nearly six months show that Mr. Limbaugh received
legitimate medical treatment for legitimate medical reasons."