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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Shortelise on October 25, 2005, at 19:31:50
First off, while reading this remember I am in Canada.
Yesterday I was talking with my psychiatrist about my husband's psychiatrist (he sees him only rarely) and I said some things that were a little critical of him. My psychiatrist said, well, I won't write that down, and we continued talking.
Later in the day, it hit me: why would he write down all everything I say about myself, and NOT write down a criticism of another psychiatrist? Who is going to read those notes? No one, right? Or so I thought. I mean, if my psych. gets hit by a bus, those records are sealed, are completely confidential, aren't they? Unless I sign a release.
I titled this post "old habit" because I have on many occasions freaked out about things he has said, and not trusted him. That has pretty much passed (oh my cat is rubbing against my ankle and she is the softest thing!!) but today I am feeling very vulnerable about this.
argh.
ShortE
Posted by messadivoce on October 25, 2005, at 20:40:01
In reply to old habit, posted by Shortelise on October 25, 2005, at 19:31:50
Did he say it in a joking way? Or as joking as a pdoc can be.....maybe he was trying to say that he wasn't going to tell on you to the other pdoc...but that doesn't really make you feel much better, does it?
I don't know the ins and outs of Canadian laws, but if you guys have HIPPA I can guarantee that even in the event of his death, your records are closed except if you sign a release.
Maybe ask him about it next time?
Posted by Shortelise on October 25, 2005, at 22:29:42
In reply to Re: old habit » Shortelise, posted by messadivoce on October 25, 2005, at 20:40:01
I will ask him about it next time, if I can wait 3 weeks. Otherwise, I may have to call him - an excuse to do so? Maybe.
No, he wasn't joking. He's a relaxed guy these days, we're into what I think they call our "real" relationship where I am not projecting all over him and he's not having to be so careful. He does joke, but he wasn't joking about this. He was being careful not to write something about this other T to protect him, I think.
I'll have to look up HIPPA.
It's hard. I'm so stressed about work, my husband's away, and I am tired and hungry. It's difficult to stay in a real place.
Thank, Voce.
ShortE
Posted by daisym on October 25, 2005, at 23:43:21
In reply to Re: old habit » Shortelise, posted by messadivoce on October 25, 2005, at 20:40:01
Typically in the event of the death of the MD the records revert to the patient or are sealed and then destroyed after 7 to 10 years.
But...in the event of the death of the patient, the next of kin has a legal right to the records. The records aren't usually volunteered and most times it takes a court order because whomever is requesting them has to prove they are indeed the right person to get them, but psych records can be released to husbands or children or parents.
This terrifies me on several levels.
I think it is standard practice to not write down stuff said about another professional. We rarely document such statements in our official records, though we might make field notes about them.
Just my two cents, for what its worth.
Posted by Tamar on October 26, 2005, at 7:23:55
In reply to old habit, posted by Shortelise on October 25, 2005, at 19:31:50
Hi ShortE,
I don’t know anything about the legal stuff, but I think professionals are very cautious about writing down anything about their professional colleagues.
I keep records of meetings with students and if a student criticised one of my colleagues (even if it were a colleague in another part of the institution who I’d never met) I’d think carefully before writing it down.
If the student made a serious allegation then I’d definitely write it down because it could protect the student to have that kind of thing in writing if a colleague were behaving in a grossly unprofessional manner. (Alternatively, it might protect my colleague if the student were making lots of allegations about people that turned out to be unfounded.)
But if it were a criticism like “X’s teaching style is terrible” or “Y hasn’t given us enough information for the final exam” then I probably wouldn’t write it down, even if I suspected it were true. It’s very unlikely that anyone else would ever see my notes but I don’t think it would serve any purpose to note that kind of thing because it's not the kind of thing I can follow up. I’d probably tell the student she could pursue that kind of complaint through appropriate channels like student representation.
I don’t know what kind of criticisms you made, but if they weren’t serious allegations then I think I can understand why he didn’t write them down. Maybe it’s not about people seeing your file but rather about his professional practice.
But I do think that talking about it with him is a good idea.
I’m sorry you’re feeling vulnerable. I hope you sort it out with him.
Tamar
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