I guess I am more worried about making a mistake with patient care than with the legal hassles.
To me it seems that the greatest burden is to make sure that the patient suffers no harm, even though this is a minefield. I practice with assistants, and it could be dangerous for the patient if we are not all aware of confidential information. That data should be obvious in the electronic record so it will be a part of every decision it could affect.
In Marty's scenario, what if the other provider doesn't know of the birth control pills and prescribes an antibiotic and you have a pregnancy. Unlikely since the med list has the OCP, if you are prescribing. But it needs to be on the med list even if you aren't prescribing. That kind of information cannot be kept in a hidden place.
If someone says they are bisexual or homosexual and want it confidential, I wouldn't put it anywhere in the chart, since it doesn't matter. If they say they have high risk behaviors, I think that has to be charted to keep in your perspective at every visit.
But then this subject is one of those reasons I wasn't capable of dealing with pediatrics.
