By Walter F. Roche Jr.
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

The Mayo Clinic, the famed health care organization, and its data processing partner Cerner Corp. are asking a federal judge to slap a gag order on a key former employee to bar him from even speaking about a new health technology product.

In a lawsuit pending in federal court, Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo charged that "once trusted" executive Peter L. Elkin walked off with key backup data on a software program developed while he was a full-time employee. Worse yet, he has been making speeches about it, Mayo lawyers charge.

Elkin countered charging that Mayo and Cerner are blocking the free flow of technology that could be used to deal with everything from threats of bio-terrorism to epidemics such as the swine flu outbreak.