When it Comes to Medical Privacy,
Notification is Not Equal to Consent

By Sue Blevins
June 8, 2002

I don't doubt for a moment that the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) understands the difference between consent and notification when it comes to parental control over children's health care. I'm sure Secretary Tommy Thompson realizes that asking parents for permission before a public school physician conducts a vaginal exam on an 11-year-old girl is quite different from simply notifying the parents that such an exam is going to take place. The consent policy gives parents full control over their children's health care, while, in contrast, a notification policy denies such control.

Yet, in rewriting the federal medical privacy rule, HHS is claiming that notification is equal to or better than consent. How bizarre!

If the administration changes the privacy rule as proposed, each citizen's medical records will be freely shared with health insurance companies, doctors, hospitals, and medical data-processing companies without his or her consent. This is a major shift in health-care ethics. It's probably one of this country's biggest government power grabs ever.

This following link provides a "questions and answers" summary about the federal medical privacy rule. I strongly encourage you to tell others--your family, friends, the media, and policymakers--about the medical privacy information posted at this Web site. I truly believe that once the American people discover how the privacy rule will affect their lives, they will care greatly about this issue.

The Institute for Health Freedom is pleased that we've been able to provide you and others with the critical information posted at this Web site. We hope you will put it to good use!