Jean Charles, Jr., etc. v. Southern Baptist Hospital of Florida, Inc., etc.

The important constitutional issue at the heart of this dispute is whether the records that patients in this State have a right to access under article X, section 26, of the Florida Constitution (“Amendment 7”), specifically records relating to “adverse medical incidents,” are privileged and confidential under the Federal Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act (“the Federal Act”),1 such that Amendment 7 has been preempted by federal law. The First District Court of Appeal, in Southern Baptist Hospital of Florida, Inc. v. Charles, 178 So.3d 102 (Fla. 1st DCA 2015), concluded that adverse…