| Privacy and Confidentiality | | Is the treatment completely private and confidential? | | Will my health insurance company know? | | Will my husband/wife know? | | Will my employer know? |
| | Your privacy rights are protected by law. | All Medical records are protected by Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ('HIPAA 1996'), and the Privacy Rule (45 CFR parts 160 and 164).
Medical records pertaining to mental health and treatment of substance use disorders enjoy enhanced privacy. This information is not released without the patient’s consent, except when ordered by a court.
There are regulations that protect the privacy of your treatment; there are rules for disclosure too.
This information is disclosed to your insurance for payments, pre-authorizations, etc. It includes protected health information including diagnosis, treatment, services provided, along with dates of service.
If you are prescribed controlled substances then this information is disclosed to the State Board of Pharmacy, and your information is accessible to other licensed medical providers and pharmacists, who are required by law to review your prescription history before prescribing or dispensing any controlled substance. And, because of the opioid epidemic this information is now shared between several states.
Doctors and pharmacists are required by law to keep records and that includes records pertaining to substance use disorders.
And that latest shiny gadget that every one carries around has a tiny silent camera … and they have not signed any confidentiality agreement with you … your privacy is at their mercy.
You want to sue somebody for violating your privacy … now you have made your information public.
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| | Will my health insurance company know? |
If your insurance company pays for your medications, the answer is yes.
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| | Will my employer know? | I am not disclosing your diagnosis or treatment to your employer.
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| | Will my husband or wife know? | Your treatment information is not disclosed to anyone without your permission.
Anyone promising you complete confidentiality is not giving you the complete truth.
Privacy means there is no unauthorized access to your Personal Health Information. That means you have to give permission to the provider to release this information, which is usually done because you need this information to be released for your own benefit.
Examples, when patients have asked me to release their treatment information:
- Patient needed a letter from me to return to her work, also called of a certificate of fitness for duty. She had taken admission to a hospital for detox, on discharge she joined my outpatient program and her employer demanded a letter from the treating physician that she was fit to work.
- Patient needed me to fill out a form required by the medical examiner when he was applying for a commercial driver license, because he had disclosed that he had been treated at my clinic.
Confidentiality relates to information that you share with your medical providers and is an issue of medical ethics. Not all information collected from you is entered in the medical record. I only include the essential information that is required to make a diagnosis of substance use disorder, and that information is what you voluntarily provide.
Additional resources:
Recent regulations applicable to confidentiality of substance use disorder patient records, can be found at the following link.
42 CFR Part 2
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| | This page was last updated on September 29, 2020 |
| | Mark A. Seldes, MD | | Dr. Seldes is a board-certified family physician, He is experienced with OWCP medical reports and performing Impairment Rating examinations. Dr. Seldes and his qualified staff, assist in obtaining compensation and medical treatment after a work-related injury. | | We perform both In-person examinations and Telehealth visits for our Florida residents who are already established patients. depending on the patient's needs. |
Contact Us Today! | | Phone: 813-328-4120, We are Open Monday-Friday, From 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM EST. (We are Currently Accepting New Patients) |
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Phone: (813)-328-4120 Fax: (813)-328-4003 Email: emergencemat2021@gmail.com
5471 West Waters Avenue, Unit 300, Tampa, FL 33634