Third Party Invasions Into Private Conversations - Revisited

There was a comment from an anonymous NY Clinician concerning my statement about “available to make decisions about loans for your house…(1)” That prompted me to ask myself, “Where did I get that idea? Then, I remembered that I was listening to a internet radio show with the host, John A. Riolo PhD (2), on the Psychjourney website (3).

I listened to his program with his guest, Susan Frager (4), called “Managing Managed Care.” During the program, John asked, “Say you want to buy a house. Most people need to buy a house. They need to get life insurance to cover the mortgage. The bank expects it. I’m wondering. I do not know of a particular case. But I am sure there are certain situations. Where if you go apply for life insurance to cover your mortgage and you have a diagnosis, that is not exactly real, you may be denied that life insurance and the mortgage company may not want to cover your mortgage. I am guessing at that. I honestly do not know of a particular case but is it a plausible situation?” Susan replied, “I do not know about the house part. Being that I just bought a house and nobody asked me about life insurance. But certainly life insurance companies will deny you or increase your premium and reduce your benefits.”

Afterwards, I went to the interview program that John had with guest, Michael Freeny (5), called “How Private Are Your Records.” During the program, Michael stated, “Its how your medical record link up with other elements of your life and the impact that has on, for example, things that you think would be pretty unusual. Like, getting a loan, getting a credit rating, getting into college, getting a job. Things that you would think your medical record would not even be a component of it.”

I would like to thank the NY Clinician for bringing this issue to the forefront in genuine hopes of increasing our understanding. I appreciate how the NY Clinician’s comment enabled a chance at dialogical collaboration in hopes of increasing all of our possibilities for ongoing understanding of what is happening to privacy in the mental health field. This shows the true spirit of this weblog called “Collaborative Possibilities.”

Footnotes:

1) Refer to blog on September 22, 2004

2) http://www.moosemeals.com/labyrinth.htm

3) http://www.psychjourney.com/

4) http://www.otr-therapy.com/

5) http://www.clinicalceu.com/