[bterrier]

My therapist wants to contact my Psychiatrist (they are not in the same practice or facility) regarding my treatment. I'm scared what they are going to share with each other. My fear is that my therapist will end up hating me and then leaving me. I don't know what legally they can share. I'm so overwhelmed I'm not sleeping and I can't concentrate. I just recently started back with the one therapist that has helped in the past and I can't help thinking she's going to be gone soon. I don't want either one to think badly of me.

You are allowed to just say no. You do not have to give them consent to speak to each other.

[atisketatasket]

Don't give your therapist permission, then. Be aware though that psychiatrists can talk to other providers without permission if they are simply discussing medication.

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[A18793715]

Originally Posted by atisketatasket

Don't give your therapist permission, then. Be aware though that psychiatrists can talk to other providers without permission if they are simply discussing medication.

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You must sign a hippa release form before they're legally allowed. If you haven't signed a hippa form saying your t can talk to your pdoc and vise versa, they're legally not allowed to talk. Doctor patient confidentiality

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[Lauliza]

The two cannot speak without your consent, not even about medication. So if you haven't given permission you don't need to worry. I'm curious as to why you are worried that your t will think differently or badly of you, however. It can be quite helpful for them to talk. Still, it is your decision entirely.

[atisketatasket]

Originally Posted by A18793715

You must sign a hippa release form before they're legally allowed. If you haven't signed a hippa form saying your t can talk to your pdoc and vise versa, they're legally not allowed to talk. Doctor patient confidentiality

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Don't think so - I just Googled to confirm. HIPAA has an exception for MDs to talk to other providers without patient consent IF it is about a limited range of topics such as medication or health care. You could argue whether a therapist counts as a medical provider, but I would bet most psychiatrists do just to save time.

Eta: just to be clear - this would have to be initiated by the psychiatrist, not the therapist.

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[Lauliza]

Originally Posted by atisketatasket

Don't think so - I just Googled to confirm. HIPAA has an exception for MDs to talk to other providers without patient consent IF it is about a limited range of topics such as medication or health care. You could argue whether a therapist counts as a medical provider, but I would bet most psychiatrists do just to save time.

Eta: just to be clear - this would have to be initiated by the psychiatrist, not the therapist.

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Correct - I'm a T and a psychiatrist will not share this info with a therapist without consent. Unless it is the most extreme emergency I would never think to call someone's Doctor without getting their permission first. Psychiatrists (why I have no idea) are notorious for not returning phone calls to other providers. Im sure there are a lot of exceptions, especially within their own practice but even then it's iffy. The Ts I've spoken to find it nearly impossible to get a return phone call from a psychiatrist, never mind have a conversation. And it's unheard of for a pdoc to initiate a call with a T, they wouldn't consider it medically necessary.

State privacy laws likely trump HIPAA if the state's privacy standards are more stringent.