To learn more about the HIPAA Privacy Rule, please visit http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/consumers/index.html.
Whether health information is stored on paper or electronically, patients have the right to keep it private. They also have the right to get a copy of their records, to request to make a change to those records, and to know how that information is used and shared.
Visit http://www.hhs.gov/ocr to learn more.
Chronic pain patients are required to sign contracts with their pain management physician. Many of the stipulations in these contracts remove the patient's rights to privacy of their medical information as well as removing the constitutional rights that require law enforcement to obtain a warrant (meaning need to show probable cause to get such a warrant) in order to get the medical record. These contracts also often contain false information regarding what is drug seeking behavior, physical dependence, and tolerance to pain medication. Also they rely upon presumptive testing that is widely known to be inaccurate in order to deny treatment. Basically these contracts are set up in such a way that every chronic pain patient will eventually violate some part of the contract and lose treatment. Depression is NOT drug seeking behavior, it is a common occurrence with ANY chronic illness, not just chronic pain.
To learn more, including information about the so-called studies that the DEA rely upon to call prescription drug abuse an "epidemic" when the numbrs don't support it. To learn more about chronic pain, contracts, and more:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/04/06/963719/-Chronic-Pain-Patients-Lose-Their-Rights
http://pain-topics.org/ for updates on studies http://updates.pain-topics.org/
To learn more about Richard Paey, an example of the unfair investigation procedures and prosecution on chronic pain patients see here:
http://www.november.org/thewall/cases/paey-r/paey-r.html
