Doctor patient confidentiality?
if a 20 year old goes in for a routine check up on his parents insurance, and the doctor notices that hes been smoking when he looks down his throat, will the doc tell the 20 year old's parents or insurance company?
Answers:
who knows if he WILL... the question is if he legally CAN.
Parents: No. Not without your consent. It does not matter who pays the bill.
Insurance Co: Depends on what the policy says.
That said, you clearly want to hide this from your parents. If you're going to allow them to continue to take care of you (i.e. medical coverage) you should play by their rules... if you can't do that, and you can't be honest, you should be taking care of yourself.
Regarding the advice below to hire a lawyer, that is just INSANE. I understand that it might be the knee-jerk reaction to a question like this, but a rational person should stop and understand what the situation actually is... a grown man wants to hide his smoking habit from his parents. That is not what one retains legal advice for. (Psychiatric, perhaps. But not legal.)
i doubt it. he may make note of what he saw on the chart, but that's about it.
No.
Ask the doctor not to tell.
Best to hire a lawyer, as this may depend on what state you live in and the HIPAA law.
The doctor-patient confidentiality privilege is supposed to remain between the doctor and the patient.
Unless an adult signs a waiver form, re: disclosing to the insurance carrier, the doctor could get nailed big time and get sued.
Not without breaking the law.
Doesn't matter who pays for the treatment if the patient is over 18.
If you are covered by your parents insurance, and are using that insurance to see your physician, your parents are entitled to information about your care because they are paying the bill. If you are diagnosed with something like smoking-related emphysema, they'd probably wind up finding out.
That said, the doctor really can't tell you've been smoking by looking down your throat, but he'll probably know by smelling your breath and clothes.
Why not quit? You're only 20, you still have plenty of time to regain the lung function you've lost.
If he does, he is violating HIPAA policies. He CAN tell the insurance IF the smoking is being treated (smoking cessation drugs, lung cancer, etc.). BE CAREFUL. The doctor-patient privilege is quickly eroding in all jurisdictions, at least for criminal purposes.
Regardless of where you live in North America, doctor-patient confidentiality is not absolute. Your doctor can be compelled to release information by a court order such as a subpoena. As well, if you're applying for insurance, you typically have to sign a release of information allowing your insurance company to get information from your doctor. How your doctor handles your situation depends on what kind of a person he or she is. There are doctors who will "fudge" the facts to ensure their patients are covered for treatment and not penalized in later dealings with their insurance company.
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