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The procedure codes involved in your visit explicitly call out what your treatment was, since information about your state of health and ongoing medical informa
by munk-a 7y ago
The procedure codes involved in your visit explicitly call out what your treatment was, since information about your state of health and ongoing medical information is considered private information we have HIPAA to protect that privacy. Information about what procedures you've had done are relatively important to keep private so that knowledge of such procedures isn't used to influence your employment - while getting blood drawn like resulted in a pretty innocuous procedure code, there are other procedure codes that are far more sensitive to disclose - including pregnancy detection (to avoid being let go for a company to dodge maternity requirements) and more social privacy concerns like being treated for an STD.
- lotsofpulp 7y agoThen they can print out a quote for me before the appointment listing the codes that will be billed so I can obtain the cost from the insurance company. My point is that they don't want to provide them before the appointment to prevent shopping around.
- pnw_hazor 7y agoUnless the patient is prescribed a controlled substance. Then docs force patients to sign a waiver that enables the police and just any other state agency to take a peek for any reason. Of course, the patient always can refuse to sign the waiver and seek out non-traditional/conventional sources of treatment. As a lawyer it is shocking to see how far the medical profession has fallen w.r.t. patient privacy.
- fingerlocks 7y agoCan you elaborate a little? Where/when is this waiver signed? If I get a small pain killer for post surgery pain, like Vicodin, am I asked to sign this waiver by my doc? Or is it at the pharmacy counter?
- pnw_hazor 7y agoUsually, it is the healthcare provider, they require drug testing (urinalysis) and require patients to waive patient privacy. The details may vary by state or among providers. And, I believe some healthcare providers require patient privacy waivers that are broader than specifically required by the locality. This might be an effort to avoid having to update the patient waivers as local law change. For example, a healthcare provider in Seattle, WA (UW Physicians') uses a controlled substance privacy waiver that can be read to allow any state or local agency access to a patient's medical record for any reason. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/states-require-doctors-to-use-prescription-drug-monitoring-systems-for-patients/2018/01/12/c76807b8-f009-11e7-97bf-bba379b809ab_story.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/state...