Is Your Medical Information Safe from Prying Eyes?

Your medical records and the right to its confidentiality is one of the most important parts of your life. With it you can obtain the medical treatment needed to keep you well and most importantly alive and feel comfortable that it is kept private. This information, along with your financial information, should be one of your most guarded items.

This was not always a fact in our country, it was just within the last 20 years that the medical profession began to discover the importance of this personal information. This medical information was at one time easily obtainable by your family members, friends and even your employers.

Your physicians office and hospitals have used what is called a CPT and ICD-9 code on billing forms. These codes were originally created for convenience of billing and are generally descriptors of your illness, condition, and procedures. Without these codes your medical bills would not be paid by your insurance carrier. Not many laypeople understand these codes and unless you have a current copy of the DSM you have no access to these codes. There was a time when others felt this kept your information private but, in the past it was found to not be sufficient.

All medical offices, hospitals, and insurance companies have their employees sign confidentiality forms agreeing that they will not share any persons medical information with another.

Yes one can argue that the nurse or doctor riding in the elevator at the facility,

where you just had surgery, could in fact share your personal information in front of an unsuspecting third party. Humans are not infallible, they make mistakes, some of them can be very costly.

But for the most part all medical facilities and insurance companies strive to maintain your right to privacy and confidentiality. It is their responsibility as a facility or carrier, if they did not do this to the best of their ability then they would not be in business for long.

The thought that your insurance carrier is in the employers pocket just for the money is extremely paranoid. Most insurance companies make millions not only from the employer but, from your share of the premiums also. If they were not trust worthy and they shared your medical information with your employer they would open themselves up for lawsuits and class action suits by the thousands. This act is quite unlikely that an upstanding insurance carrier would stoop so low.

This writer personally knows of 4 people who lost their jobs in the course of a year because, one took work home with patients names on it (this could have put the patient information in jeopardy if stolen or laid out where others could see), one because they were discussing the medical information in a file in the elevator (not even mentioning a patient name just the discussion of treatment of disease was enough for the hospital to terminate), two for discussing a patient in the cafe in the hospital. Now this may seem like a lot to a person, but keep in mind the thousands of employees in a hospital in all walks of employment, from housekeeping to physicians. If you look at it from this perspective then 4 is a relatively low number of employees.

When seeking a hospital or physician you can go to a referral agency, your insurance carriers online website, call your carrier, or even contact the American Medical Association and you can be assured that the medical facilities and professionals that are provided to you through these referral sources are in fact meeting the HIPPA requirements of the Federal Government. Also, if you have any issues with your medical confidentiality you can contact the American Medical Association to file a complaint regarding the violations. Keep in mind that your dentist also falls within the guidelines set by our Federal Government when it comes to the confidentiality of your medical treatment.