Can other doctors see my medical records without my written consent?
Your medical records are stored on paper (and potentially electronic form, but not a centralized database) at your doctor's office. Another doctor can only see your medical records if you request that your doctor send them to him, or, in the case of an emergency, if he or she contacts your doctor's office and has the records faxed over (if you show up unconscious in the ER, knowing your medical history might mean the difference between life and death, but they can only get your records in a true emergency). Your doctor can also show your medical records to his colleagues to get their opinion on a diagnosis or treatment, but they're bound by the same confidentiality as if they'd seen you themselves). However, except in an emergency, a doctor at another hospital can't see any part of your medical records without your consent. Your new doctor won't know who your old doctor was without your telling him. Before or during your first appointment with your new doctor, he or she will probably ask you for a medical history, which would include contact details for your old doctor, some basics about ongoing medical conditions, serious medical conditions you've had in the past, allergies, family history, etc., and he or she might also give you a form to give to your old doctor to have various records including vaccinations and some basics about overall health sent over. From your question, I get the impression you might have something in your medical history you are reluctant to share with your new doctor. While I certainly can't force you to decide either way, I strongly recommend you be honest with your doctor. For your doctor to be able to take the best possible care of you, it is important that he have as much information as possible. That should include as much of your medical history as possible. Whatever it is that you don't want him to know, while it may be embarrassing for you, it's almost certainly something your doctor hears every day, and might even be able to help you with. Also, remember that everything you tell your doctor is confidential, so you don't have to worry about anyone else finding out.
How do life insurance companies get medical records?
When you signed the application you authorized the insurance company to access your medical records. You also answered numerous questions regarding the state of your health past and present. If those questions are not answered honestly the company might rescind the policy due to concealment or a material misrepresentation. How would they find out? It would depend upon the cause of your death. If you died of an illness such as cancer or heart disease not long after the policy was issued they would initiate an investigation of hospital and physician records (which you authorized when you signed the application. If you died in an auto accident they may not look any further because your previous "health event" would not be material under that circumstance.
There are two main groups of patients who tend to present to the Emergency Department for 'non-genuine' reasons.Some of these patients will be categorised as 'Hospital Hoppers' or patients with 'Munchausen's Syndrome'.These tend to be a group of patients who have an attraction to the sick role, they tend to be pathological liars and, sometimes, derive pleasure from their ability to deceive the medical staff.They aren't, necessarily, drug seekers but there are some commonalities which may lead us to suspect their motives for attending the department.PresentationThese patients often present with detailed and convincing descriptions of cardiac chest pain, abdominal pain, haematemesis (vomiting blood) and haemoptysis (coughing blood)The true Munchausen'scpatients need to be differentiated from those patients who are 'malingering' - which refers to the fabrication of illness for definite gain (faking symptoms to obtain opiates for instance)Suspicious FeaturesOf both types of presentation:Incomplete or inconsistent disclosure of personal details or past history.Patient a long way from home area.Recent dramatic history of surgery or complications elsewhere.Excellent knowledge of finer details of past treatment or complications.Multiple scars.Elaborate history of allergy (to all but the desired painkillers)Unusual/demanding history.No ascertainable cause for the symptoms.Sometimes, the only thing that makes us suspicious is a 'gut' instinct - an unconvincing history from patients who are demanding specific things.Patients in pain 'genuinely' tend to have a different appearance. They are often pale and sweaty. Additionally, their behaviour doesn't alter even when staff aren't present.Some patients who are seeking drugs will exhibit different behaviour when they don't think they are being observed.Departments in the UK will often share information about patients felt to be seeking drugs or 'hospital hopping' and departments tend to keep internal registers.None of it is fool-proof but it does tend to flag the non-genuine.
What's the latest news on Diabetes Mellitus Type 2? When do you subject your kids for testing for diabetes?
He's an answer I did not copy and paste from the Internet. Your children will have a higher risk or Type II diabetes because it is in their family. But it can be avoided by them if they maintain healthy eating habits and stay active. They should also avoid excessive drinking later in life. They should not be at risk now unless they are obese. Type II is on the rise with our youth because of the electronic babysitter and over indulgence of junk food and soda. If you teach your children proper eating habits now they can carry that through as adults and they will be fine. Type II runs in my family - 2 uncles and my grandfather. As long as the rest of us stay active and eat healthy we will be fine. Good luck to you and your family.
Do Canadians want tUSA privatized healthcare system?
The American media is controlled by special interest groups who will lie and fabricate stories just to justify their own views. Do you really think Canadians are suffering and dying waiting in lines? Are Americans that gullible and ill-informed? Canadians don't want the US system, we do not want be in debt up to our @ss if we have a major medical emergency. I have had many blood tests, I can either go to the lab at a hospital or a private lab/clinic without making an appointment and just wait my turn behind others who were there before me. The most I've waited is probably 1/2 hr. Judging by the political ads during US elections, there is no such thing as ethics in the US media. As long as you have the money, networks will air anything. And Fox News is a joke, it is the Enquirer of the news media. Also, Americans hate to be told they are not the best of everything so they think giving thumbs down to answers on the Canadian boards proves they are superior. Edit - My 83 year old mom had her hip replaced last summer, she waited less than a month but could have had it done sooner but doctors wanted to do some more preliminary tests to make sure she was in good health before major surgery. She has no private health insurance, it cost her nothing and the follow-up doctor approved private care cost nothing. She had to pay a partial fee for meds. but nothing astronomical. And this is what your media is calling inefficient? I just don't understand the turmoil this issue has caused in your country. I think fear of change is the cause of some of the problems in the US (and false stories from the media too). You really somehow get the message across to your fellow citizens that Canadians like their Health Care System.