Tennessee Medical Foundation (TMF)
Physician’s Health Program (PHP)
Confidentiality
The TMF takes great care to ensure that, as with any health care related endeavor, the names, addresses, and case information related to its participating physicians remain strictly confidential. This policy of confidentiality protects the public by encouraging physicians who need our help to feel free to contact us with the knowledge that their request for assistance will be professionally addressed with the privacy that any other health care patient would expect who sought medical care from a physician, hospital or nursing home.
The Tennessee Legislature passed statutes in T.C.A. §63-1-150 and §68-11-272 that govern the confidential nature of TMF’s work. TMF’s work occurs within the confines of these statutes. The TMF and its employees constitute a Quality Improvement Committee as defined in these statutes and, therefore, the protections provided for in these statutes apply to TMF’s work. For this reason, the TMF’s work is privileged from discovery and strictly confidential. These protections are very important to the TMF’s mission as they allow the TMF to do its work, while keeping its work confidential.