A lot of this is brought on by the medical establishment: e.g. somehow calling gastroenteritis the flu, so that patients don't know the difference between "stomach flu" and Influenza. Drives me crazy to hear it mixed up in the room.
So that led to making HIV this horrible thing, so that one had to sign a special form just to have the test.
It kills me when I see a release form and the patient checks off you can't send mental records. Why is mental illness considered so bad? And, then you have the four year old girl whose only illnesses were the common cold and an ear infection, and the parent checks off the box saying can't send mental illness.
Jill, you should have a form when they first come in and fill out the demographics, et. al. that says:
1. If you have an illness, do you want your doctor to diagnose and treat it? _____ Yes _____ No
2. If you answered yes, they you agree that your doctor can only do so if he/she is allowed to write the diagnosis down in the chart. If you do not want that, then please change your answer to No.
