Doctors deserve privacy too: Credentialing should not require revealing your entire health history

At a time of stringent requirements for patient privacy, what about the legitimate rights of physicians?

Editorial. Jan. 20, 2003.

With all the publicity -- and controversy -- surrounding the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and its attendant requirements for safeguarding patient privacy, most physicians should be at least generally aware of the protections afforded their patients.

But it's unlikely those same physicians are as well versed in ways to protect the privacy of their own medical information through the licensure and credentialing processes.

It's not surprising. Licensing requirements, often vested with state medical boards by state law, vary greatly. In addition, there is no shortage of credentialing horror stories among physicians, who are often required to fill out a new, and often different, set of forms for each hospital and managed care organization with whom they are affiliated.

No one disputes, and case law backs up, the duty to license physicians and regulate hospital staffs and clinical privileges. However, the scope of the information necessary to fulfill that duty has been the subject of controversy in the health care community. And rightly so. A desire to practice medicine should not equal a forfeiture of privacy rights afforded to people in most other professions.