Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Legislature / Woods House Committee Passes Bill Denying Confidentiality to Teens
Posted by Jeff Woods on Wed, May 13, 2009 at 4:41 PM
The bill was amended to give physicians a little more discretion in deciding whether to surrender medical records to parents. The way it's now written, physicians can deny access if they suspect the patient has been or may be abused or neglected. But health care professionals worry that if they can't promise teens confidentiality, then they won't go to the doctor for STDs or other embarrassing illnesses.
"Having access to confidential care is essential to getting young people into care in a timely manner," said Dr. Veronica Gunn, the Health Department's chief medical officer.
Comments (5)
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Man, just when we get the grownups back in charge in DC, the ignorant hillbillies take over the state government.
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You are telling the truth. Southerners are not stupid but the folks in the legislature make us look that way. Guess we got to go to work.Just when you thought we had made a difference -- can't let down your guard, ever.
You're right, Sueyyy. If you didn't know any better, you'd think the Legislature's sole goal was to perpetuate the Southerner-as-inbred stereotype. Can't the Chamber of Commerce hold an intervention or something?
If you delve into the details you'll find the bill only grants to custodial parents the rights now enjoyed by non-custodial parents. If doesnt conflict with HIPPA which already gives parents access to minor children records unless the health care professional feels the child is the victim of abuse.
So by opposing this bill are you trying to protect the rights of non-custodial child abusers?
Hands down, IVF and ICSI fertility treatments win by a mile. It's a big undertaking with all types of responsibility vs a rather solitary life with many distractions, especially in the area of parenting, but I'm not sure I'd want to be a part of the future if this aspect is important to you. The in vitro procedure is a much better choice in that case.
