Heroin rehab confidentiality?

[easy as]

confidentiality

Many insurance companies and doctor's offices failed with patient confidentiality during the race to become HIPPA compliant. Additionally, if your insurance company covers your rehab and you change providers they have access to your records and can and will share them if anything is withheld in your attempt to aquire new insurance. This has hurt a number of people in the states and forced many people to get their psychiatric and psycological help by paying out of pocket. I am not sure what the confidentiality clause looks like for 'free clinics' but believe they do not share any information as they know they are often the only entity standing between sobriety and prison/death. Also, the laws passed by Clinton and Bush were not overtured and allow insurance companies to share info with the doctors and clinics. Although details are not shared, where you obtained help is.

NA and other 12 step programs are totally confidential as is anything said in a physician's office unless it implies an intent to harm yourself or puts others in direct harm.

Paying out of pocket is the best way to distance yourself from the papertrail and using a moniker in a rehab setting further distances you from this possibility esp. if you want to become a doctor.

First thing is to get help, but do not ignore the ramifications of your actions should becoming a doctor be something that is a real possibility in the future.

Get well and good luck!

 

[k20]

thanks for all the replies guys. it's very helpful. I have some other questions now, kinda off topic tho.
I've been prescribed xanax/valium/tramadol/somas and some other goods but I've always payed cash and never used insurance. Will there still be a record for that?
I'm also considering being medicated for marijuana (I live in Cali). How's the confidentiality for that? If someone were to request a background check, will they know that I am prescribed medical marijuana?
For trying to get clean, which of the methods I've mentioned would be the most helpful? Again, inpatient rehab isn't an option.
Thanks again.

 

[easy as]

I believe there will be a record of your prescribed medications but it should be protected under doctor confidentiality laws unless you are changing doctors or intend to.

Sorry, but I have no ideas what the laws are as far as medical marijuana are concerned.

Can you detox without Subs or Methadone?

 

[friggin wiggin]

Well I know Drs can PAR people here in Cali and it will show them a list of all Meds prescribed, who wrote them and where and when they were filled. Methadone clinic Drs in Cali often perform a par on any patient they suspect of Dr shopping to make sure they are not receiving a deadly combination. The Methadone clinics here also check with all the other clinics in the area to make sure you're not getting multiple doses. This is all without any release of information granted by the patient. Any Dr. can perform a PAR. What they can't do is tell the other Drs that are also prescribing to you anything without the release of information. My wife works in a methadone clinic. I have the same fears about confidentiality. They say the only thing they are required to report is if you are putting minors at risk. So what if you are a pediatric physician or law enforcement working in a juvenile facility? will some self righteous person report you?

 

[DooMMooD]

I mean if it does go on my record and I'm not able to get a job because of it, I rather try to quit by myself....

I wanna be a doctor (don't laugh or judge!) and I'm pretty sure I won' be able to practice if I'm known to have abused drugs in the past

edit: I mean if a doctor knew they'd have to report it right? Is it the same with a shrink, would the shrink have to report it too?

Sorry but just from looking at this from a logical standpoint: if you are so deep in that you are seriously considering rehab, I doubt you will have to worry about becoming a doctor if you DONT check yourself in.

That is, you will never become a doctor if you dont get clean, and you probably wont get clean on your own because if you could, you wouldn't be thinking about going to rehab.

Get yourself some help buddy so you at least live to carry out your dream of becoming a doctor. You definitely will not be going to med school or helping ANYONE if youre dead from an OD.

I was worried about the SAME SHIT as you: will it be on my record?! Will my insurance be fucked for life?! How can I ever do X if its on file that I was in rehab?! Then I realized....none of that mattered anymore because I wasn't going to make it TO any of those points....How funny right? We addicts worry about the STRANGEST THINGS! Here you are with a serious drug problem that requires rehab and you're worried about stuff YEARS from now....Just another way to justify it to ourselves: Well I dont need to get help because it will fuck up my life down the road...despite our lives already being, well, fucked up.

There wont' BE a down the road buddy...you really think you'll be able to finish college, med school, residency, etc with this giant monkey on your back and no problems? You really think you'll honestly make it that far once youre an intern and have access to giant piles of pharmaceuticals? I know myself personally: if i ever managed to get to that point (internship after years of med school) with a giant heroin monkey on my back, I probably would get arrested at that point anyway for stealing meds, so really think about this.

 

[Swimmingdancer]

I agree with DooMMood. Your first priority should be getting clean. Use whatever treatment and support is necessary and worry about whether that affects your career choices later. You may not be able to have a career if you don't get help with your addiction first.

If you are talking about a cold turkey rehab (where you aren't prescribed anything) then no one should be able to find out without your consent. If you are prescribed medication then any doctor or pharmacist will be able to access the list of drugs you have been prescribed. What conclusions they make from it depends on whether or not those medications were medications that are typically only prescribed for drug dependence (such as suboxone or methadone) or medications that are fairly common and have other uses (such as clonidine, painkillers, anti-depressants, sleeping pills, etc). I don't think that they will look up your prescription records just for wanting to become a Dr, it's more done when you go to a Dr or pharmacy to see what other medications you are taking or make sure you are not getting the same Rxs from multiple Drs.

You keep asking if rehab/treatment will show up in a background check. A background check is generally only for criminal records, or sometimes will also include financial records (credit rating, whether you've ever filed for bankruptcy) and business records (whether you've owned a business and if that business has been sued, filed for bankruptcy, etc). It does not include any medical records. However, an employer can request medical records with your written permission if it is deemed necessary, although I doubt that would happen in the case of becoming a Doctor. What they might do, however, is give you a questionnaire to fill out which asks various questions about your past. Whether or not you have ever used illegal drugs may very well be one of the questions. It is up to you how honest you choose to be of course, but if it becomes obvious later on (say if you still have a drug problem and people can tell, or they have reasons to investigate, or it's common knowledge or something) could be bad for you. An employer can ask for a drug test, but presumably you are planning on getting clean before that would have the possibility of happening (I have no idea whether a drug test is required to become a medical professional in California).

I would recommend that you pay for any drug treatment out of pocket to avoid giving that info to your insurance company, as they can and do share information about policy holders with other insurance companies and other entities.

As for medically prescribed marijuana, there is no reason a Doctor can't be prescribed legal marijuana.

As for your wondering about a Doctor "having to report it" if you've been treated for drug addiction, what do you mean? Report it to who? Doctors have to maintain confidentiality unless required by law to disclose something to a particular entity - such as in certain criminal proceedings if they have evidence of a crime, or if a child is being abused they might have to tell the police or Children and Families, or if someone is on probation and drug tests are required as part of their terms. Doctors certainly don't report their patients to anyone for seeking treatment for drug addiction.

 

[Swimmingdancer]

Also, as to your question about the various types of rehab/treatment, I would suggest you contact a local organization (or drug counsellor etc) that provides information on drug treatment options in your area. There are many different kinds and it would be best to be able to talk to someone about your situation and get all the options so you can decide what works for you. They may also have information on the confidentiality of each option.

 

[delltreeguy]

I went to a Methadone clinic for many years and it was very confidential. The only way anyone will see any of your rehab records is if the courts order them, and it's quite a bit of paperwork. It also has to pertain immediately to some kind of case against you.

 

[DooMMooD]

I went to a Methadone clinic for many years and it was very confidential. The only way anyone will see any of your rehab records is if the courts order them, and it's quite a bit of paperwork. It also has to pertain immediately to some kind of case against you.

This is how someone can LEGALLY see them. What people can see and learn illegally is an entire different matter. I don't just assume NO ONE can see that i've been in rehab or gotten drug treatment. I expect that people could find that out with enough poking, and anyone at an insurance company can see it with NO poking. Unless you pay straight cash for every single thing and use a fake name (because even paying cash medical records now a days are computerized and its easy to look up names in a computer database...) someone doing a deep enough background check or prying deeply enough could in theory find out.

Example: you really think not one person who went to that clinic would've told a guy who came poking around that you attended if they offered em 50$ for the info?

People can and do also illegally discriminate against addicts (illegal because addicts are technically covered under the ADA as i understand). It sucks but it happens, especially when they find out about it through illegal (or legal even) means. They find out youre on methadone/addict and DQ you from insurance/job/etc for another minuscule reason, like you didnt fill a piece of paper out correctly, or you just "weren't working out with the company". Its happened to members on here on bluelight. Thats why I dont tell anyone I'm an addict unless required by law as the case of becoming a doctor would be...though i think if you make it that far beating your addiction they will respect you a lot and not care. Quite a few docs/counselors who are in the field are ex addict.

Say someone is applying to become a LEO. Or work in a pain management clinic, or a top secret underground evil lair....You dont think they do deep enough background checks to find out almost anything?

Not trying to scare you but these are prob the very reasons the OP was talking about. Similar reasons/feelings I have, and some are true. But as I said, i realized my future fears were worth dick if I died and had no future.

 

[Swimmingdancer]

That is true, people can find things out illegally if they really want to. I once had someone go to my pharmacy and say they were a relative and ask about my methadone and the pharmacist told them everything. Not cool and not legal, but I didn't have much recourse after the fact. But this is no reason not to get help!! And people have to be suspicious in order to start snooping around in the first place. If at this point in the future you're totally clean and appear to be an upstanding citizen and your drug treatment was long in the past then it shouldn't cause you any problems. Especially if you're thinking of doing a type of rehab where they just give you a few clonidine or something and not long-term methadone maintenance.