Quote:
Originally Posted by Humpty Dumpty
Basically no. They have my signature saying I would allow them to release info to her. I was told that was the only way she would be able to visit me. I was in the middle of a nervous breakdown at the time & didn't know/think to fight that. I was also told I had to allow them to release info to my insurance company in order for them to pay for my treatment.
As far as finding a Pdoc I have tried. I have been through all of the ones my insurance covers. I have gotten a list before and had to cold call & would sometimes get a women's center. I'm not a woman. :/
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Despite signing releases, a patient always has the right to rescind permission to release information. So you can - at anytime - revoke the permission you give to any provider to share private info. Not that I'm claiming you have secure control of your personal information. As you found out the hard way, the system can and does betray people, even to an illegal extent. Then, unless you can demonstrate that harm came to you, as a result, you have a hard time suing them. Plus, few lawyers want to go up against a healthcare facility (for something like this) . . . especially if you don't have a ton of money to incentivize them with. So they get away with abusing your trust.
Telling you that your wife couldn't visit, unless she had access to your private info was just nuts. They do have to release info to your insurance co. to get paid.
So now you know firsthand how things actually play out.
I have learned that I can not be totally honest with people in the healthcare system, and I never will be. However, I do have a medication (amitriptyline) that helps me, and I get it. I tell them what I want them to know to get what I want to get.