Should Doctors Keep Minors' Info Confidential?
Categories: Teens & Tweens, Safety, Playground Bureau
This is a tough one. I remember being a kid on the brink of being a teenager--we didn't have the word "tween" back then--sitting in my pediatrician's office waiting to get examined or get a shot or whatever. That doctor was not someone I felt like spilling the beans to, had I any beans to spill, but for a lot of kids their family doctor is someone they can, and do, turn to in times of need. Doctors are adults but they are not your parents, and they can be trusted with confidential information you share with them based on the oath they took to keep your secrets private. Whether or not a doctor keeps a minor's information confidential private is one thing, but whether or not the doctor SHOULD share such information with the parents is all together another. And, it's a murky one at best.
As the doctors interviewed in this article in the New York Times point out, it's rarely a black and white situation when a kid confides something to a doctor. Questions about issues with drinking, drugs and sex come up quite often, and the doctors are torn over losing the child's trust, which can be invaluable in helping the child resolve the problem since the doctor knows the kid won't be telling his/her parents versus keeping the information confidential when the doc knows the parents would want that information.
As a parent, I would want to know everything that's going on in my kid's life. Does he have friends? Does she have trouble with her schoolwork? Does he get beat up by bullies? Does she drink at parties? I know I'll never be privy to this kind of information, and as a result will not necessarily be the one to help my child get through whatever problems he or she faces. That said, it seems like a doctor is one of the adult figures who might be able to help my child, whether or not I get to find out about it. Still, I can see why parents would be angry with a doctor for keeping the fact that a child has a drug problem, for example, quiet. I think in most cases the doctor would cave and inform the parents, but you never know. It's a tough call the doctor has to make, on a case by case basis. Usually the doctor is able to come up with a compromise, a way to telegraph to the parents that something is going on with their kid and that they need to watch the child more closely or be more involved in the kid's life.
Do you want your child's pediatrician to tell you everything or would you rather there be some things between the two of them so long as the issues get sorted out? My kids are both under two years old so I kind of do know everything that goes on with them, but what about those of you with tweens and teens?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Karen 12-11-2008 @ 4:20PM
My MIL is a ARNP in an emergency room and says that she can, by law, remove parents when she is talking to a child and insists that it is necessary to get the kids to be honest.
I insist that I would refuse to leave, would remove my daughter from the hospital (seeking out another one) even under the threat of arrest.
Children have no business making medical decisions without their parents. They should not be entitled to medical proceedures (which their parents are financially responsible for by the way) without their knowledge and consent. That goes for everything from stitches to an abortion.
I realize that medical professionals are seeking honest and accurate information, but the parents right to make health care decisions for their child trumps that IMO. I realize it isn't supported by law, but I feel VERY strongly about it. I would not consent to leave.
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Sandyone 12-11-2008 @ 7:24PM
damn skippy!!
well said.
Is she correct when she says it's the law or is that just something she tells people (hopefully believing that it's true)? I know that I've been told that certain medical procedures are "required by law" or other activities are "prohibited by law" and I know that those statements are false.
DCM 12-18-2008 @ 1:36AM
Wow, you two are pretty damn ignorant. How many of you think that your kid will tell a doctor anything, knowing that you will find out and react like a lunatic(which u have just shown you will). I guess its better to let your child go untreated and unhelped and have nobody know than to be healthy and safe and have a qualified, intelligent, trained professional know?
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Sandyone 12-18-2008 @ 10:37AM
DCM, it's better for parents to develop healthy relationships with their children. It's better if doctors don't assume that parents who will express disappointment and/or anger will also go crazy. It's better if doctors (and lawmakers) don't take away my rights and my children's rights in order to better care for children with stupid parents.
Why should my kid be put at risk because there are parents out there who act badly?
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ThinkPink4595 12-31-2008 @ 11:58PM
ABSOLUTELY!!!!! If a teenager feels comfortable with telling their parent what is going on with them, then that is their decision to make. If a teenager feels that they cannot go to a doctor to get help and have complete confidentiality then they just wont go. And how scary of a thought is that... a teenager that needs help from a doctor that wont get it because they dont feel comfortable. The solution to this is that parents should have better realtionships with their children. I'm sure (because im a teen with an amazing mom.) that teenagers will tell their parents what is wrong if only their parent provides a comfortable environment for the teen. My mom has certainly done this for me. I am 16 and my mom is my BEST FRIEND. Now you may be thinking, "huh? teenage girls are supposed to hate their moms" but thats not true with my mom and i. Ever since I was a child, my mom has always kept a level head when presented with information that may not always be comforting. She made it known to me and my brother that we could tell her anything in the world. her main concern has always been and will always be that my brother and i are happy and safe. She's been my best friend my entire life but she also has been a fantastic mom. She disciplines me when i get out of line and has never let me do things that some teens get away with today such as staying out all night, going to parties where the parents aren't home and other things such as that. but the funny thing is, i've never had any desire to. Don't get me wrong, I'm an EXTREMELY social person, ive just never had the desire to do wrong things because I've never wanted to rebel against such an amazing mom. I think that if more moms were like mine this wouldn't be an issue. Teens would be comfortable telling their parents when they needed help and the doctors would have no need for confidentiality...
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