Learned something shocking about my kids healthcare

[rogerwa]

At least shocking to me..

I took my 15y/o daughter to the urgent care clinic on Sunday as she was complaining about abdominal pain. She was doubled over and claiming she was going to die today.. We had a little bit of Harold and Maude going as my wife and I knew what the probelm was and she wasn't going to die. She has had some problems with chronic constipation and is supposed to be taking some stuff to keep it in check but is not doing it.

Anywhoo..

I take her to the doctor in the off chance that she could be having a burst situation, which would obviously be serious, but not very happy as we have been down this road before.

What surprised me is that when we were in the exam room he kicked me out and said her health is private and she needed to give approval for him to talk to me about it.

I knew she wanted to talk in private so as to avoid being emabarassed but I said that I will be coming back after the exam and we will be having a chat about what is going on. He said he couldn't unless she approved.

He convinced her to let him talk to me, as she knew I was going to be PO'd about it being the same old thing. He was quite a nice guy but said the law is called HIPA and it prevented him from talking to parents about their childs health unless the child gave approval.

So let me get this straight.. I am responsible for my daughters heatlh as I could be arrested for negligence if I do not provide care to her, yet I do not have the right (for my own child) to know her condition. I am also paying for her health care, which I would have let her handle had she refused.

Can anybody enlighten me as to the good reasons why this exists? She is my child and my repsonsibility and I have a right to understand her health issues.

 

[roscoe]

Re: Learned something shocking about my kids healthcare

Simple one here.
Its to keep you out while she talks to the doctor about being pregnant, physical and sexual abuse, and abortions.

Its the road we have been led down for a while now, and more to come.

 

[rogerwa]

Re: Learned something shocking about my kids healthcare

That was my sense considering the abdominal pain and the fact that this has never been an issue before.

If she's pregnant I dang well deserve to know about it. I am supportive in the case they suspect abuse, but once that is determined, it should be an open book.

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: Learned something shocking about my kids healthcare

As I understand the HIPAA rules, unless your doctor suspected abuse, he was wrong. In some states, there are state specific rules that might have given him authoity to withhold medical information, but HIPAA is a Federal law, not a State law. See the link, below.

http://www.hhs.gov/hipaafaq/personal/227.html

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Learned something shocking about my kids healthcare

and it may have been a different situation, if the mother had taken the daughter to the doctor, and they discussed woman problems, she would not discuss in front of her father.

 

[Caveman Charlie]

Re: Learned something shocking about my kids healthcare

It's a tough call. I understand your position about being the parent and having the right to know. But, what if you were a abusive parent and she was having pain because you hit her in the stomach. She might have been afraid to talk to the doctor if she though you were going to find out and hit her again. So you see the law kinda makes since if you look at it from that way.

If you see what I mean.

Plus, what if she was pregnant and you were the father? She wouldn't want to tell the doctor that with you in the room would she.

What if she had a backyard abortion and it did not work right. She would never tell you that would she?!

Let me say I understand none of the things I just said are true about you and your daughter. But, in some parts of the country things like this have happened and the doctors need to be able to talk to the patient freely and openly. Without the patient being afraid of repercussions for being honest.

The fact that your concerned shows your a good parent.

 

[oddjob]

Re: Learned something shocking about my kids healthcare

Simple one here.
Its to keep you out while she talks to the doctor about being pregnant, physical and sexual abuse, and abortions.

Its the road we have been led down for a while now, and more to come.

Amen brother...dig in everyone.

 

[kenimpzoom]

Re: Learned something shocking about my kids healthcare

Everyone knows the government knows best.

And they know every parent is a child abuser until proven otherwise.

Get used to it.

 

[drrpm]

Re: Learned something shocking about my kids healthcare

Except when dealing with small children or demented patients, it is propper to do the medical interview in private. People, especially teenagers will leave out potentially embarrassing, but important details otherwise. Hippa is a PITA and often makes getting and appropriately sharing information more difficult. However, its the law and the penalties can be severe.

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: Learned something shocking about my kids healthcare

While I understand the frustration of parents feeling like Big Brother is trying to tell them what they can and can not do, HIPAA is not the problem here. Its actually a pretty good law, and if you have ever changed jobs and had to change your health insurance plan along with that circumstance, chances are that HIPAA has helped you. This is because the law forces new providers to cover pre-existing conditions, as long has you have not been uninsured for more than 63 days. The law also prevents your personal medical information from being handed out to just anyone. Since there are alot of people who would just love to misuse such information, that is a very big deal.

The real problem in this case is a doctor who doesn't really know what the HIPAA law says. My guess is that he is confusing it with certain provisions of Title X of the Public Health Service Act. Titile X has language in it that allows minors a right to privacy, even from their parents, over reproductive issues. The law has been challenged a bunch of times, and has been upheld in every case.

Under HIPPA, a doctor can withhold medical information if he or she suspects abuse of the child. Because of this, and because the doctor doesn't know prior to the exam if that is a valid concern, the fact that he didn't want rogerwa present isn't surprising. Its also not surprising, because no 15 year old girl wants her father present, if there is a possibility of a pelvic exam. Once the exam was over, however, there should have been no problem with information being freely shared with rogerwa. The exception to this would be if there were contraception issues involved, and his daughter told the doc that she didn't want to disclose that part of her health. But once again, Title X is the applicable law, not HIPPA.

I think what the doc should have said is that he needed to examine his patient in privacy. He could have also said that he would discuss the matter with rogerwas after the exam, without specifying what he would be talking about. That would have left it as a simple conversation that could be elaborated on later, in accordance with the actual circumstances and rogerwa's daughter's wishes. Chances are, if the matter had been handled this way, this thread would have never appeared at iboats.

 

[Kenneth Brown]

Re: Learned something shocking about my kids healthcare

Once again Jay nails it. My wife is a RN. She works around my doc. He will NOT discuss my conditions with her until I approve it. While I think this is a little overboard I also agree somewhat. Me and a former doc had a huge falling out over this about 10 years ago. I was having some "private" work done and told him it stays with me and him, not his nurses or anyone else. Two days later my wife is fuming at me over my medical care. I ended up reporting him to the board and getting a formal apology from him, the clinic he worked for and the state medical board.

 

[jeffreyfrog]

Re: Learned something shocking about my kids healthcare

In some states, there are state specific rules that might have given him authoity to withhold medical information, but HIPAA is a Federal law, not a State law.

 

[Drowned Rat]

Re: Learned something shocking about my kids healthcare

It doesn't surprise me that the doctor did what he did. Happens all the time in the emergency room, we just don't think this much of it then. Any female of child bearing age with abdominal pain is considered pregnant until proven otherwise. That is the medical standard. Under that umbrella, he was covered to conduct his exam in private. I agree he could have handled it better though.

 

[JB]

Re: Learned something shocking about my kids healthcare

Law aside for a moment, there is, in my mind, a moral right to privacy in many matters, not just health, that begins at or near puberty.

That is long before parents surrender responsibility to support and supervise.

After puberty people are independent minded developing adults who make many decisions without regard to Mom and Dad. They make decisions to share information and feelings with peers, mentors, counselors and health care providers that they will not share with parents.

We need to respect the confidentiality of those relationships.

 

[mthieme]

Re: Learned something shocking about my kids healthcare

I share Rogers feelings. I am responsible for the care and feeding morally, financially, ethically, and naturally.
I had to take my son to the ER once because he was severely backed up which caused bad abdominal cramps. I had absolutely no desire to be present during the actual examination.
However, if you don't let me know what's going on, I do have the option to refuse service and go to the next guy.

 

[mikeandronda]

Re: Learned something shocking about my kids healthcare

Nobody and I mean nobody should have the right to tell me I cant be in the examination room with my monor sons or daughters period. It has more to do with abortion rights then abuse protection is my guess......What the freakin heck is this country coming too.........Whats next will I have to ask permision from my kids to see their report card? How long before they tell us what punishment( Or lack of one) must be given for each misbehavour my child commits?

Truth is if my kid is old enough to have a normal conversation ( 6yrs or so and up) I would be fine if they wanted a private visit with the Doc. But no adult doctor, teacher, or shrink will ever tell me that they will be with my kid alone whether I like it or not unless they have a badge and they just might need a gun too. Grrrrrrrr. sorry rant mode off.

 

[WizeOne]

Re: Learned something shocking about my kids healthcare

...
We need to respect the confidentiality of those relationships.

Undoubtedly true JB. But it seems a difference between you and I is that you appear not to mind your Government mandating that. Every thing in life that should be is not always the case. If we let Government enforce the shoulds, in every area of our lives, we'll be in a deeper mess than we already are.

Doctors should be there to heal the sick, not to be the 3rd party enforcers of overreaching government edicts! Parents should rightfully have the right to determine the level of confidentiality that they allow their minor children. And that based on the Parent's knowledge of and the level of trust of the child that only the parents can know.

 

[Drowned Rat]

Re: Learned something shocking about my kids healthcare

Clearly this rule exists for a reason. There are some potentially life threatening emergencies that may not be uncovered if the minor girl is unwilling to give an accurate history in front of her parents. This happens all the time in all stages of healthcare. It's not meant to punish the parents, it's meant to protect the children and that's exactly what it does.

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: Learned something shocking about my kids healthcare

Nobody and I mean nobody should have the right to tell me I cant be in the examination room with my monor sons or daughters period. It has more to do with abortion rights then abuse protection is my guess......What the freakin heck is this country coming too.........Whats next will I have to ask permision from my kids to see their report card? How long before they tell us what punishment( Or lack of one) must be given for each misbehavour my child commits?

Truth is if my kid is old enough to have a normal conversation ( 6yrs or so and up) I would be fine if they wanted a private visit with the Doc. But no adult doctor, teacher, or shrink will ever tell me that they will be with my kid alone whether I like it or not unless they have a badge and they just might need a gun too. Grrrrrrrr. sorry rant mode off.

Suppose you were a bad dad and had been sexually abusing your daughter? Suppose you had given her an STD, or had gotten her pregnant? Suppose you were a bad mom, who had been forcing her to have sex with your boyfriend? Suppose you knew she was pregnant by a boyfriend and were insisting at home that she get an abortion, but she didn't want to? As sad as it may be, all of these things do happen and they happen more often than you might think.

As for the docs having badges - they don't need them. The police in the hospital have badges and if the docs tell you to leave the examining room, but you refuse, those policemen will forcibly remove you if need be.

It is completely understandable for a parent to have concerns over being locked out of decisions concerning their minor children. Its also completely understandable and within the realm of normal adult concerns, to question how it is that someone else can tell us what we can and can not do, in regard to our children's health. Unfortunately, the situation is not a simple one and the bests interest of the child have to be considered, in an imperfect environment.

 

[mthieme]

Re: Learned something shocking about my kids healthcare

I suspect good parents are an overwhelming majority. I only guessing here - I could be wrong. As a good guardian, should I have to go through a third degree and be treated like a criminal just to get your minor medical attention? Given a choice of going to jail and not getting my grandson needed medical attention, not only is someone gonna have to bail me out, but someone else is going to need medical attention too.
But this is mild compared to what most mothers I know would do.

I had sinus surgery some years back. My ENT tells me right before putting me under that one of the hazards is that if he slips the instrument can go through an area of the skull that is thin along with a few other unlikely hazards. I told him, I did not need to know any of this. He said he had to inform me by law. We both thought it was ridiculous. Obviously if I didn't trust the man, I wouldn't have been there.

IMO, the system goes overboard. It only takes one instance to make a law/policy/procedure - right, wrong or indifferent. Big brother is always trying to protect us from ourselves.

Sorry, got too much redneck in me I guess.