Protecting patient privacy is of paramount importance. Dr. Rauh will not acknowledge that a patient is in his practice without a release from that patient . If the authorization comes in the form of a Fax, Dr. Rauh will still seek to confirm the validity directly with the patient. Although insurance companies may seek detailed information for life insurance coverage, their requirements can be satisfied, in many cases, by a relatively nondescript overview letter.
Dr. Rauh will not release patient information to third parties, nor confirm or deny that an individual is seeing him, unless at least one of the following conditions is met:
- The patient has given permission to release information to a particular individual or organization.
- The patient has submitted a claim to an insurance company and the company needs information to honor the claim. For example, obtaining coverage for some medications may require that the physician describe the reasons for needing that particular medication.
- Adequate patient care sometimes requires communication with other professionals about the patient. (In most situations, Dr. Rauh will have obtained permission from the patient for such communication.)
- If the patient has failed to pay for services, an outside agency may be engaged to collect the payment. In this situation, only billing information is released.
- The patient presents a danger to himself/herself or others.
- A court order is issued requiring that records be turned over. In these cases, the patient record would have to be released but the information in Dr. Rauh’s psychotherapy notes remains private under a ruling of the US Supreme Court.
- Child or elder abuse is suspected.