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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2015
    Posts
    1

    Default Does a Doctor Have to Counsel the Spouse of a Patient

    My question involves medical malpractice in the state of: NJ

    I have a question about a doctor refusing to assist/treat one spouse when both spouses are patients of the doctor.

    If the wife is falling down a lot and has gotten hurt (cuts, bruises, etc.), got into a car accident, is very forgetful, and has become more hostile lately, and her husband is so concerned that he makes an appointment to meet with their doctor alone to discuss this with the doctor and to ask what he should do and the doctor refuses to provide any guidance other than saying, "You have to decide whether you want to remain married to her," what does that mean for the doctor and for the husband? Isn't this an odd thing for a medical doctor to tell the worried spouse of a patient of his? How would this be a HIPAA violation if the doctor offers advice? These are medical symptoms?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Massachusetts
    Posts
    24,521

    Default Re: Does a Doctor Have to Counsel the Spouse of a Patient

    How would this be a HIPAA violation if the doctor offers advice?

    It wouldn't be a HIPAA violation. What would be a HIPAA violation would be if the doctor discussed the wife's medical condition with the husband without the wife's express, written permission.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
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    Behind a Desk
    Posts
    98,846

    Default Re: Does a Doctor Have to Counsel the Spouse of a Patient

    Quote Quoting MissChick
    View Post
    ...he makes an appointment to meet with their doctor alone to discuss this with the doctor and to ask what he should do and the doctor refuses to provide any guidance other than saying, "You have to decide whether you want to remain married to her," what does that mean for the doctor and for the husband?
    It presumably means that the doctor isn't interested in offering marriage counseling, or taking a position on what the husband should do in relation to his marriage. Perhaps the husband can ask the doctor for a referral to a marriage counselor.
    Quote Quoting MissChick
    Isn't this an odd thing for a medical doctor to tell the worried spouse of a patient of his?
    Believe it or not, we weren't in the room. Depending on what actually happened, it may be a perfectly appropriate response.
    Quote Quoting MissChick
    How would this be a HIPAA violation if the doctor offers advice?
    Are you changing the subject to the doctor's declining to disclose the wife's confidential health information with her husband? No, the doctor is not free to violate doctor-patient confidentiality just because the person asking questions is a patient's husband.

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