Did Trump's recent medical exam include a mental health evaluation? If so, will the doctor's findings become public information?
You don’t have to wait for the results of President Trump’s medical exam to be made public. Just listen to CNN or MSNBC. They will give you their report on President Trump’s health during any of their “Fake News” reports. They have made it their goal in life to lie and distort every single fact about a president who is only trying to repair our economy and provide better paying jobs for Americans. Unlike Obama whose goal was to provide jobs in America for illegal aliens, especially Muslims and Syrians.
As a doctor, are you required to report illegal drug use in patients?
Absolutely not, and it would be wildly unethical to do so.In order to care for people effectively, doctors need patients to be forthright and honest about subjects which could be embarrassing and/or incriminating including sexual activity, drug use, domestic violence and mental illness.Because of that, keeping a patient’s secrets is foundational to medical ethics. The law recognizes a very few exceptions to this, typically including (depending on the jurisdiction) reporting child abuse, elder abuse, or someone considered an imminent threat to kill themselves or someone else. Sometimes firearm injuries have to be reported. Simple illegal behavior — drug use, theft, assault, even murder — cannot be disclosed without a court order (I personally would not disclose those things even with a court order).This is the law, but the law is based on ethical principles that are older than the laws, older than the nation-state. The Hippocratic Oath concludes:“Into whatsoever houses I enter, I will enter to help the sick, and I will abstain from all intentional wrong-doing and harm, especially from abusing the bodies of man or woman, bond or free. And whatsoever I shall see or hear in the course of my profession, as well as outside my profession in my intercourse with men, if it be what should not be published abroad, I will never divulge, holding such things to be holy secrets.“Now if I carry out this oath, and break it not, may I gain for ever reputation among all men for my life and for my art; but if I break it and forswear myself, may the opposite befall me.”
Is it legal for a doctor to blurt out your test results while someone else is in the room? It was obvious it was done purposely to shame me, which it did. I never gave consent for the doctor to do so and was in too much pain to do anything about it.
It depends on the situation.Parents have the right to hear the test results of their children, since parents make medical decisions for their children. By the teen years, however, this rule is disregarded when the teen asks for privacy, and especially when the issue is sensitive (drugs, pregnancy, mental health, allegations of abuse.).Prisoners under guard don't get privacy, and people whose medical decisions are being made by a guardian are in the same situation as minor children.A doctor should not blurt out results in front of strangers - in the waiting room, for example - but can speak to you in front of other members of the medical team (nurse, physical therapist, etc.) who are also bound by confidentiality rules.A tricky situation is when the patient is accompanied by a family member or boyfriend/girlfriend, who comes with them into the exam/consultation room or is present in the hospital room. This often makes it seem that the patient has given permission for the accompanying person to hear medical information.If the information is sensitive, though, a good doctor will still get the family member out of the room and ask the patient if she wants information kept private. Most of the time, patients with secrets quickly find ways to tell the medical staff not to give them up. In my practice, "Nobody knows I use heroin, so please don't talk in front of my family" is not a rare plea.I once read of a lawsuit brought against a doctor whose female patient had brought her husband into the consultation room. The doctor had then told the couple that the woman's genital sores were probably from an STD. The couple was Arabic, and it was later revealed that the woman was under the thumb of her abusive husband and in-laws - she had not wanted her husband to come with her into the consultation room but had not been able to stop him from being there. After the doctor's revelation, the husband and his family beat and tortured the woman for months for being "a whore who had an STD" until she was finally able to escape them. (The sad punchline: she actually had Behçet's disease.).
Why would a doctor put "patient is intelligent" in a report?
A lot of medicine is a scam. If you Google “Medical Records Rooms” then select images you will see hundreds of pictures of lateral files full of hand-scribbled charts which are not easy to audit. When I was in medical school from 1973–77, I was told to resist the computerization of medical records on to giant reels of tape that a computer could audit. As of today, they are still just in the process of computerizing the medical records which should be in Dr Weed’s SOAP format (subjective objective assessment and plan) with legally enforced date and signature. Last time I looked it is still possible to have a career in the medical records room so do not hold your breath. Every estimate of un-necessary surgery I have ever heard falls into the range of 40±10% so a 33% reduction in surgery alone is possible which would bankrupt hundreds of hospitals. The last chart I have seen on health care costs/GDP had the USA at 17% while the next highest developed nation was 11% which is enough of a drop to through the entire nation into a financial crisis, not just health care.
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.
Will a doctor prescribe antidepressants to you if you test positive for illegal drugs?
People with psych disorders may first try to self treat or soothe with street drugs. Antidepressant meds and other therapies may be necessary as people detox get things sorted out. Sometimes people who take opioids may show depressive symptoms due to the central nervous system depression associated with this class of drugs, but the person may have an underlying psych illness. During treatment, a person may need inpatient care whereupon closer investigation of baseline and other things can be evaluated.If a person refuses to detox and or continues to drink alcohol other interventions may not improve functionally. Anti-depressant pills are not magical jelly beans. Some depression is situational, some are endogenous, some can be part of a medical condition or drug. Treatment for depression involves many interventions and a person who will not participate in the process may find that a doctor will choose not to take that person on as a patient at all.
Does a CBC test for illegal drugs?
No it does not. A complete blood count (CBC) test measures the following: The number of red blood cells (RBCs) The number of white blood cells (WBCs) The total amount of hemoglobin in the blood The fraction of the blood composed of red blood cells (hematocrit) The size of the red blood cells (mean corpuscular volume, or MCV) The CBC test also provides specific information the size and hemoglobin content of individual red blood cells. This is determined from the additional following measurements: Mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) Mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) The platelet count is also usually included in the CBC. Don't worry! And no if the doc is testing you for drugs you would know. And yes it is separate, and drug testing isn't routine there should be a specific reason for drug testing
Is suicide illegal in the US?
Attempting suicide is against the law (sort of). The police take you to a hospital to have you evaluated and if you are considered a danger to yourself or someone else you may be committed to a hospital. A lot of pepole made jokes about it answering your question, but it is no joking matter. Theory is if you want to commit suicide you may have a chemical imbalance or are suffering due to something bad that happened in your life. The US is a GREAT country because they want to ensure everyone's safety and has many systems in place to help people. Most people who attempt suicide and survive are grateful they didn't die after they receive the appropriate help. If you or someone you know feels this way you should call a help line (there is always a number in the front of you phone book), stop by the local hospital, your family doctor, or call the police. In the US we DO NOT have Insane Asylums. We have health care providers, mental health clinics, and mental health hospitals. So, get yourself or someone else help no one will be arrested.