DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
OFFICE OF THE SURGEON GENERAL
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20315

  

 

IN REPLY REFER TO:

~ MEDTL 4 August 1969

Professor Joshua Lederberg

Stanford University School of Medicine
Department of Genetics

Stanford, California 94305

Dear Professor Lederberg:

This is in reply to your letter concerning New Orleans District Attorney
Jim Garrison,

There is very little I can add to what you already know about the inci-
dent. Early this year this office received a number of inquiries con-
cerning the case; in all our answers we regretted to indicate that we
had no idea how medical records on Garrison could have been revealed to
the press.

Army policies and regulations expressly forbid, with certain exceptions,
that medical information on a patient be released without his permission,
The directive in this regard is AR 345-20, "Release of Information and
Records from Army Files." I have had reproduced for you the pertinent
portions of the directive dealing with medical records.

Needless to say, The Surgeon General and members of his staff were dis-
tressed about the entire incident. If a patient cannot seek out medical
care with the reasonable expectation that his communications with his
physician and the physician's medical judgments and records of treatment
remain a confidential matter, then the whole basis of medical practice
is placed in jeopardy.

Because of the particular sensitivity of psychiatric case histories, we
have for many years required that the detailed portion of such histories
be sgparated from general medical records in our treatment facilities.
mid ecend, to restrict the sensitive or personal portion of such records
for the use of psychiatric personnel only. If a diagnosis of a definite
mental illness is established, this information will be included in the
general medical record, but the more detailed records retained by the
psychiatric clinics do not leave the local facility and are destroyed
MEDTL (4 Aug 69)
Professor Joshua Lederberg

when they no longer serve a useful purpose. Our medical officers and our
administrative personnel receive specific instruction about the confidenti-
ality of medical records, and I am reasonably certain that none of them
would knowingly be party to releasing such information improperly,

You may be aware that after a specified period of time medical records no
longer being utilized in active patient care are retired to a repository

in St. Louis. This is the U.S. Army Administrative Center, Office of The
Adjutant General, 9700 Page Boulevard, St. Louis, Missouri 63132. At this
facility the storage and security of these records are not the responsi-
bility of The Surgeon General. However, all Department of the Army agen-

cies having custody of personnel and medical files exercise extreme care

to limit access to them to those persons and agencies specifically authorized.

We appreciate your interest and share your concern over the incident. I
wish to assure you again that any unauthorized release of information from
medical files is considered a clearly unwarranted invasion of individual
privacy and, as such, is contrary to Army regulations.

Sincerely yours,

Incl OSEPH ISRAELOFF GG

As Stated LTC, MSC
Chief, Technical Liaison Office