Zane v. Friends Hospital

OPINION

Chief Justice CAPPY.

We granted allocatur to consider a limited exception to the coordinate jurisdiction rule. As part of our review, we are asked to evaluate the breadth of the confidentiality provision of the Pennsylvania Mental Health Procedures Act (the “Mental Health Procedures Act”), 50 P.S. § 7101 et seq., as well as the statutory provision regarding confidential communications to psychiatrists and licensed psychologists found at 42 Pa.C.S. *240§ 5944. For the reasons stated below, we reverse the order of the Superior Court.

Appellee Jerilyn Zane (“Zane”) brought a negligence action…