Posted by gardenergirl on February 5, 2006, at 17:50:32
In reply to Re: Suicide on Effexor, posted by Devastated Mother on February 5, 2006, at 9:51:39
> HIPAA - can someone explain to me why there are not exceptions to the law allowing doctors to inform family when the FDA black box label clearly says that family should be informed?
There are exceptions.
If a patient is in immediate danger of self-harm, the doctor or other provider is allowed to break confidentiality in order to keep that patient safe.
This breaking confidentiality must be the minimum necessary to accomplish safety. For example, it may include telling police, family, ER personnel, etc. about the patient's care, diagnosis, and status in order to keep the person safe.
All of this depends, of course, on the doctor or other provider being AWARE of the imminent danger. And imminent means that the person has a plan and intends to carry it out, and has not responded to attempts to arrange for their safety voluntarily.
HIPAA requires phsycians or other providers to disclose when private health information (PHI) is disclosed, so in the above scenario, in order to comply with HIPAA, the person CAN disclose minimally necessary information and must document said disclosure.
gg
poster:gardenergirl
thread:606122
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20060203/msgs/606648.html