Posted by stjames on May 4, 2003, at 22:42:28
In reply to Re: Stealing medical records?? » stjames, posted by WorryGirl on May 4, 2003, at 9:50:52
> I somehow thought that, probably, mental health records might not be viewable to at least some of the patients, if they were determined to be unstable. I could picture an unlikely, but possible horrible scenario where the patient reads in the records that he or she is "unstable and a possible threat to this family", then goes home and shoots his/her family.
I agree that some should not see thier docs notes & suspect docs often bluff in this case to protect
patients who they feel would be injuried by this.
If you are really insane, I would argue seeing your notes is not a good thing. How would this help:Dx: Paranoid schizophrenic
Prognosis: Poor. No family support, no finances &
No med compliance indicate condition will progress
until life on the street kills this person.>
> Maybe pdocs allow patients to view their own records depending upon the diagnosis and assessment of their mental state. Does anyone know if all mental health records are viewable by any patient, regardless of their condition, whether for a fee or not?This is basic to the rights of privacy and your
papers, please see the constitution.
> I suspect that I was being audio-taped, maybe even videotaped when I saw my therapist last year. He rarely seemed to be taking notes. Either I was so boring that he didn't need to take many, or he has a great memory and saved his note-taking for later (somehow I doubt that; he seemed rather lacksadaisal, often appearing to have almost fallen asleep while I talked, but not when he was talking, which was often).They cannot tape unless they ask. Docs don't take a lot of notes to protect you from insurance issues.
In truth, if there is something that earth shattering in your notes, and the doc has never
mentioned it, there is not reason to seak treatment from this doc.
poster:stjames
thread:223854
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20030426/msgs/224360.html