Posted by Dr. Bob on October 1, 2002, at 7:38:46
In reply to Re: MacPac: legal issues re dr. records, posted by madison88 on September 30, 2002, at 0:14:56
[Posted by BarbaraCat on September 30, 2002, at 23:55:02
In reply to Can I Legally See My Doctor's Records??, posted by McPac on September 28, 2002, at 23:38:07]
> Not only can you see your medical records, you better believe you SHOULD see them!!! You might be horrified at what you find. In the process of applying for long-term disability I received a very hard time from the insurance carrier. A long story short, and many hours of detective work and talking to many people, I found out some very scary things. I also was quite bemused at what my doctors and pdoc had to say about me. Verbatim conversations typed out. Someone, surely not the good doc, transcribed them, someone filed them, many hands later they're sitting in a file cabinet.
>
> Psych and health records are kept separate at hospitals and managed care facilities, but big deal, anyone with an IQ over 50 can follow the trail to your psychiatric history. The standard line is 'we don't release anything without your consent', but think again about all those waiver forms you sign to get a job, open a bank account, get 'free' life insurance. Read the small print if you're given more than 10 seconds to read the form. Believe me, you give consent without being aware of it. If a time should come where your records are requested for, say, long-term disability, or perhaps someone possessing your 'signed approval' has a gripe against you (perhaps an employer who considers you an insurance liability because of your expensive medical bills), well, guess who makes copies of these records? A copy service, such as Kinko's, my friends. This information is worth alot of money.
>
> Major, major stuff and no one really thinks much about it until they have an unfortunate reason to do so. What can we do about it if we want the job, the bank account, whatever? Not much. Not signing at the very least raises suspicions about you. Just be aware that our liberties and privacy are being eroded drip by drip and we don't have a clue.
>
>
> > I'm in Ohio.........am I entitled to see my own records from my doctor?
> > Has anybody ever done this?
> > If he says no, should I ditch him?
> > Thanks!
>
>
poster:Dr. Bob
thread:30677
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20020924/msgs/30703.html