Thursday, July 5, 2007

Medical Privacy Law

Updated 3/2017-- all links (except to my own posts) removed as many no longer active.

Apparently health care workers are capable of taking privacy laws (rules) too far. Read this article by Jane Gross in the New York Times. We are forgetting that sometimes we need to share information to take care of patients or to help their families take care of them. So now Sen Edwar Kennedy and Sen Patrick Leahy plan to introduce more legislation to create an office within the Department of Health and Human Services dedicated to interpreting and enforcing medical privacy. Do you think that will help? I don't think you can legislate "common sense".

1 comment:

Margaret Polaneczky, MD (aka TBTAM) said...

I agree - most people have lost common sense.

Hopever, we can't always assume tha family can know. Especially when it comes to gyn issues, young women don't want their parents to know what's going on, even when they are adults themselves.

It really only takes a second to ask a patient if it's okay if your discuss their health matters with family.