medical question

"Sylvain" wrote in message
t...
Jay Beckman wrote:

(Do you
seriously believe that HIPPA protects your privacy?)

Yes I do.

well I don't.

But then I'm married to a Human Resources professional who know more
about
it than I. She's got some "great" stories about how she can't ask
certain
questions even when an employee is face down on the office floor having
had a stroke.

I got a few fun stories too; I no longer count the number of 'illegal'
questions I got asked during job interviews or during the course of
employment, e.g., age, marital status, nature of my disability -- I
walk on crutches -- prying questions about my ethnic background -- I have
a funny accent and an exotic name -- etc.

Did you pursue the matter or just stew and bitch? You get no sympathy here
if all you ever did was just roll over and take it. Laws don't work in a
vaccuum. They exsist to redress wrongs but nothing happens if someone
doesn't yell foul.

Not to mention unsolicited commercial mail that uses information that
either employers or health care providers should have kept to themselves
(you can easily keep track of that by carefully chosen typos or choice of
spelling etc. when you fill out application forms -- an idea suggested long
ago by a professor I had in college)

Clever idea, actually. However, I would think that most applications would
be denied or rendered void if it was proven you were willfully entering
misleading or false information.

And that's for the deliberate/willful leaks,

Just 'cause you aren't paranoid, doesn't mean they aren't out to get you.
Are you keeping some secret that these companies think the world should know
about?

don't get me started with how reckless administrations and corporations
are with your private data...

Uh, ok...

In other words, no, HIPPA does not give me the same warm and fuzzy feeling
as it does to you... but hey, may be is it just me.

I never said it was perfect or foolproof but it sounds like you've either
worked for or encountered some pretty scummy individuals or fly by night
operations.

Unfortunately, there are many corporations that do not follow HR laws and
regulations (and there are way more than most people are even remotely aware
of...) My wife would be kicked to the curb instantly if she were to be
caught shopping personal info...especially medical information...which she
can't, because she isn't allowed to see it because of HIPPA (funny how that
works, eh?)

Next time, you might try contacting the office of the Attorney General for
the state in which you claim these companies are shopping your info. You
might also want to get in touch with a local or state professional society
relating to Human Resources and file a complaint and/or the Dept of HHS.

I'm not saying medical data mining/sharing/shopping doesn't happen, but
there are laws against it and therefore, there is recourse. Unless you'd
rather sit home and just be shat upon.

Your choice...

Jay B

("Mortimer Schnerd, RN" wrote)
They don't know what they're not told.


I could find out what half the people on this newsgroup are taking, without
too much effort. Type in a name to "the system" ...BOOM, there's half your
high school graduating class, at your fingertips.

Pharmacy Techs are low paid, educated, smart people, who sometimes get bored
at work.

Walgreen's anyone? How about Target? Blue Cross? Wal-Mart?


Montblack

Jay Beckman wrote:

Did you pursue the matter or just stew and bitch? You get no sympathy
here

well, too bad then, but I was not really trying to get sympathy; just
pointing out that there can be a world of differences between how
things should be happening and how they do happen; seriously, you do
know what the odds are -- as in, real life odds, as opposed to
tv-drama life odds -- of getting anything out of 'pursueing
the matter' in such cases? I didn't know, so I inquired, just out
of curiosity, then moved on. (note: in a profession where one
depends heavily on previous references, being litiguous, even for
a good legitimate reason, even if you win, is not the best career
choice one can make)

spelling etc. when you fill out application forms -- an idea suggested
long ago by a professor I had in college)

Clever idea, actually. However, I would think that most applications
would be denied or rendered void if it was proven you were willfully
entering misleading or false information.

does not have to be misleading or false; but for instance there can
be different ways/formats of entering your address that are equally
valid; different ways of spelling your name (e.g., be creative
with regards so suffixes, middle name), and of course, never
give twice the same email address, etc.

Just 'cause you aren't paranoid, doesn't mean they aren't out to get you.

I am glad you aren't diagnosing me as paranoid, would have had to
report it on the ol' 8500-9 at the next medical :-)

--Sylvain

Emily wrote:
Matt Whiting wrote:

Emily wrote:

Morgans wrote:

Then see a doctor who is. I doubt that she will concur with this

armchair diagnosis of depression. Better yet, find an AME who is
also
a psychiatrist, if such exist.


That is actually very bad advice to those pilots who value their
medical
certificate. A real pilot knows not to place the responsibilities of
normal healthcare in the hands of the same doctor who signs one's
medical
certificate.



Once again, Mxsm shows that he is clueless. What is he now, 0 out
of 100?

Sheesh!



What *I* think is funny is that he writes as if every word out of his
mouth is gospel.

I mean, seriously, how is a sim player qualified to give anyone
advice on their medical? He gave very dangerous information and I
can only hope that no inexperienced student pilot believes his advice.


How is the information he gave dangerous?

Matt


You think it's a good idea for a student pilot to take his advice? It's
irresponsible to put information out there like that.

I don't see how having two doctors rather than one is dangerous advice,
student pilot or otherwise. That appears to be the essence of his
recommendation above.

Matt

Matt Whiting wrote:
Emily wrote:
Matt Whiting wrote:

Emily wrote:

Morgans wrote:

Then see a doctor who is. I doubt that she will concur with this

armchair diagnosis of depression. Better yet, find an AME who is
also
a psychiatrist, if such exist.


That is actually very bad advice to those pilots who value their
medical
certificate. A real pilot knows not to place the responsibilities of
normal healthcare in the hands of the same doctor who signs one's
medical
certificate.



Once again, Mxsm shows that he is clueless. What is he now, 0 out
of 100?

Sheesh!



What *I* think is funny is that he writes as if every word out of
his mouth is gospel.

I mean, seriously, how is a sim player qualified to give anyone
advice on their medical? He gave very dangerous information and I
can only hope that no inexperienced student pilot believes his advice.


How is the information he gave dangerous?

Matt


You think it's a good idea for a student pilot to take his advice?
It's irresponsible to put information out there like that.

I don't see how having two doctors rather than one is dangerous advice,
student pilot or otherwise. That appears to be the essence of his
recommendation above.

Matt

I was replying to a post by Mxsm in where he said I should see an AME
about this.

HIPAA does protect a patient's privacy. These days, without a signed release
from an individual we can't get any information regarding a patient's
history or diagnosis.

Regarding the original thread, the OP's symptoms need to meet the criteria
spelled out in the DSM, a book that describes the symptoms of various
psychiatric diagnoses. Meeting these criteria helps the health professional
make these diagnoses, similar to an internist getting a series of lab tests
and other studies to make their diagnoses.

If the OP had responded affirmatively to these questions (if they were even
asked), then there may have been a chance that she was/is in fact depressed.
A prolonged and persistent fever of unknown origin is another matter
entirely, and also requires an extensive medical workup, since such symptoms
could be ominous as well.

An off the cuff remark about appearing depressed and a failure to follow up
on a prolonged fever seems a bit glib and superficial, but again we weren't
in the exam room, so don't know all of the conversation that was discussed.
These days, however, the number of patients coming to my practice on
antidepressants has skyrocketed. Either depression has become pandemic in
the general population, or the drug salesmen have been extremely successful
in their promotion of these drugs.

At the very least she should see another primary care physician, someone who
will pay attention and listen to her complaints. The best resource for this
is to talk to other health professionals who know the individual physicians.
(The worst resource is to get information is word of mouth, because the
slickest and "nicest" doctor according to someone's aunt, may also be
technically weak).

Finally, she should sign a release and get a copy of all of her medical
records from the original physician. If the record states that she is
depressed, she should have the record corrected, either by the original
physician, or by another health professional. The record should state
something like: no evidence of depression either currently or in the recent
past during a febrile episode, and does/did not meet DSM criteria for this
diagnosis.

With such a statement she could clearly fill out her FAA form and say she
had never been diagnosed as having had a history of depression.

Just my interpretation as an AME and flight surgeon.

But now after a few days off and a little vacation you feel just fine
and happy and energetic.

But if in the future you have a fever, see a different doc. Some are
better than others, I think.

Emily wrote:

I've been running a 102 degree fever for the past two weeks and have
been so tired I can barely get to work. Finally made a doctor's
appointment (with a new doctor) today, but wasn't planning on getting in
the same day and had taken Tylenol for the fever...so no fever when I
showed up.

Long story short, he ordered some blood work, but told me he thinks that
I am depressed, since I have fatigue with no fever. He said that if the
blood work comes back normal, he's writing it up as depression.

Obviously he's an idiot, since 1) fatigue has so many other causes and
2) I don't have depression, never have. This is just a bogus diagnosis.

My concern is, if he writes this up in my medical records, do I have to
report it to the FAA? I'm really terrified of this.

Matt Whiting wrote:
Emily wrote:

...
My concern is, if he writes this up in my medical records, do I have
to report it to the FAA? I'm really terrified of this.

Yes, you have to report it at your next medical, but I can't remember if
you have to report it right away. I'd call an AME and ask. I think you
also should get a second opinion right away.
...
I just saw my AME and disclosed a "condition" when I filled out the
application for a 3rd class certificate. When I got my turn with the
doc, I told him in words about the problem and he said, "You didn't put
that on the application, did you?"

He said he can often dictate words that comply with the need to disclose
but minimize the FAA's interest. He said he would use words such as
"infrequent", "controlled", ... He said I might "get a letter from the
FAA asking for more info".

Trevor wrote:

This is UseNet. Some information is excellent, some is written by computer game
players. Caveat emptor.

My twelve years or so of Usenet has shown me that bad advice given by those
with no real knowledge of a topic under a newsgroup's subject never stands
on its own. It will always be corrected, at least to a point where it not
an all out danger to someone who might blindly follow it.

--
Peter

Mxsmanic wrote:
Trevor writes:


Amusing? Sure. Dangerous? Hardly.


If I understand properly, some people here are suggesting that one
hide disqualifying conditions from AMEs, which is a lot more dangerous
than anything I've said.

I don't think you get it. There are a number of conditions that are not
disqulifying, but could still cause some consternation. You probably
should go through all the day to day discussion of your health care with
your primary doctor, evaluating all of your options. When you come up
with a solution both you and your medical can take you go to your AME
for your medical.

Not dangerous, prudent,

Margy