I can answer that. I used to wonder the same thing, but medical records are a particularly powerful type of information. Data in your medical record is often as

I can answer that. I used to wonder the same thing, but medical records are a particularly powerful type of information. Data in your medical record is often associated with major life events (serious illness, risk of illness). Often a medical examination can reveal if you participate in certain sexual acts (tearing in the vagina or anus), whether you are at higher risk for cancer, whether you have an illness or disability that would cause others to treat you differently, or would cause employers to sideline you. A medical examination can sometimes identify where you have traveled, even if it's a secret (why do you have anti-bodies for yellow fever or TB?). Genetic data can (and has been) taken from the medical records relatives of serial killers without their knowledge (with a warrant) in order to get a confirmation that their relative might be a match to semen samples found at crime scenes. This has at least in once case resulted in a warrant being issued and a case being solved in California. http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/familys-dna-led-police-grim-sleeper-serial-killer/story?id=11116381 http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/familys-dna-led-police-grim-... With genetic tests, you can also uncover family secrets that can turn said family completely dysfunctional (non-biological mother/father, incest, parents are unwittingly cousins). Additionally, you need not tell your insurer everything. New rules under the HITECH act are coming into effect that mean that so long as you pay cash at the doctor, you can request that the details of the visit not be forwarded to the insurer. http://news.aapc.com/index.php/2013/02/know-when-hitech-trumps-payer-contracts/ http://news.aapc.com/index.php/2013/02/know-when-hitech-trum...