Can a doctor in Arkansas withhold medical information from me over my 15 year old daughter? I'm her mother.?

Question

I took my daughter to the health unit, and they checked her out, but would not release any information to me. They even gave her condoms and birth control. I even told them i was her mother and signed the paper work. Can they do that? I 've looked everywhere for the information, please help.

thank u

Answer 1

Amazingly enough....

Yes they can.

Its ridiculous, I agree.

Encourage her to talk to you about whats going on, because you wont get anything out of the doctors.

Answer 2

sorry im not sure on confidentiality over there as im in the uk, but here doctors etc have to keep every patients medical information private with the patient only. unless of course it is children with their parents, but if a teenager came alone or wanted to keep it confidential then the doctors have to respect that. without her permission they cannot give you any information. although it could be different there to here. you should have a chat with someone about this, although im sure its nothing to worry about she is 15 now and starting to need more privacy and talk to people she can trust without them telling anyone. at least you know she will be safe with the contraception she has been given so i dont think you have anything to be concerned about. talk to her about it.  

Answer 3

Yes they can keep it from you. Doctor patient confidentiality laws.

Answer 4

yes they can

Answer 5

as far as birthcontrol and pregnancy yes they can withhold that information unless she authorizes them to discuss that with you... Female issues are the only thing they can withhold from you.

Answer 6

YES THEY CAN AND THEY HAVE TO BY LAW!!!  Your daughter by federal and state law and the HIPPA act has a right to confidential health care. How many young people would confide in their doctor if they thought the doctor would disclose everything?  This is especially true for reproductive health care, your daughter may obtain these services BY LAW without your consent or knowledge. You should be communicating  WITH not TO your daughter and obtain any info directly from her, not trying to go behind her back.

Answer 7

Tina is right- yes, they can withhold medical information from you under federal privacy laws, if your daughter tells the doctor to do so. I work as a medical coder, so I know this is true. There's a law out there called HIPAA which specifies what is and is not considered to be protected health information- and information about contraceptives, family planning, etc., as well as counseling on how to use them, is definitely covered by that law. The letters stand for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act- and it was passed and signed into law by Bill Clinton in 1996. Take a closer look at the papers you signed, and you will see that one of them is probably a privacy act notice which every medical practice puts out these days. That notice probably has a clause in it which says that once you sign it, you agree that protected information cannot be released to anyone without your consent or your daughter's, and that consent must be in writing, not verbal. If you don't have written permission from her, then you aren't gaining access to whatever the doctor discussed with your daughter, PERIOD. The doctor is following the law to the letter here, which is a good thing- because he or she is aware that you could sue him for failure to do so.

Have you ever tried actually TALKING to your daughter about what the doctor said to her??  You might just be surprised at what you learn, if you were to do this in a kind, non-threatening, non judgemental way. Perhaps your daughter WANTS to take responsibility for her health, and the health of her future husband, and protect herself against an unwanted pregnancy and disease. Such an attitude is to be commended, NOT condemmed, because it's rare in teenagers these days. You should be grateful for it, in fact, because it's a sign of REAL maturity on your daughter's part, no matter what YOU might think of her possibly having s*x right now.

Think about it.  

Answer 8

Yes they can if they definitely think that you are not the guardian of the child. If you don't take care of the daughter (she doesn't live with you) then they can't give it to you.

Answer 9

yes they can.

Answer 10

most places have it at 14 or 15 that privacy is respected for kids and the only one that can get the information is the child you would need her permission to get it

Good luck

Answer 11

Let us hope that they can withhold information on request of the patient. There are some things that must remain confidential, no matter how desperate the parents are to control their child's life. If you were better parents to begin with, this question would not come up, now would it. It's not like you are going to be able to do much, even if you had the info. If confidentiality were not maintained, there some things that would be left untreated, causing greater distress to our society.

Time to get over it, mom and dad.

Answer 12

no·they·cant

Answer 13

thankfully, yes they can

it sounds as if you need to Communicate with your daughter openly about s*x