As part of my membership benefits in a Professional Organization, I am offered the opportunity each year to have a Full Body Medical Work-up done at a discounted price. I have never chosen to do this.
This year saw our youngest graduate from Medical School, so when the offer arrived in the mail I asked him whether it would be of any benefit. He read it carefully, then told me that since I have no pre-existing symptoms or family history for any of the items the tests are designed to determine, he recommended against having the test performed.
This past weekend we had dinner with friends from college, and my Fraternity Brother's wife, a RN, asked if we had ever had these tests performed. I related the story of our son's recommendation. She related a scary story; that of a friend who did have the tests done.
The test indicated that something might be amiss and recommended further more comprehensive testing be done. The friend followed the advise and was relieved to learn the feared consequences were NOT true, merely one of the expected anomalies of a broad scope high level exam.
Unfortunately, due to the ever broader dispersal of medical information to interested parties, Health Insurance Companies learned of the results of the initial test. He was denied medical insurance by many carriers, and policies offered were much higher priced because the initial test indicated he 'might' have this condition - even though subsequent tests showed this was not the case.
Not sure how close this comes to violating HIPAA but it certainly gives one pause!
This year saw our youngest graduate from Medical School, so when the offer arrived in the mail I asked him whether it would be of any benefit. He read it carefully, then told me that since I have no pre-existing symptoms or family history for any of the items the tests are designed to determine, he recommended against having the test performed.
This past weekend we had dinner with friends from college, and my Fraternity Brother's wife, a RN, asked if we had ever had these tests performed. I related the story of our son's recommendation. She related a scary story; that of a friend who did have the tests done.
The test indicated that something might be amiss and recommended further more comprehensive testing be done. The friend followed the advise and was relieved to learn the feared consequences were NOT true, merely one of the expected anomalies of a broad scope high level exam.
Unfortunately, due to the ever broader dispersal of medical information to interested parties, Health Insurance Companies learned of the results of the initial test. He was denied medical insurance by many carriers, and policies offered were much higher priced because the initial test indicated he 'might' have this condition - even though subsequent tests showed this was not the case.
Not sure how close this comes to violating HIPAA but it certainly gives one pause!
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