Verified answer

They can release your medical records without your consent.

Reasons being:

-3rd party payer (usually insurance)

-Continuity of care (if u were transferred from 1 hospital to another...etc)

-Subpoena

-Court Order

-and I think there's one more reason.

Further than the reasons listed above they absolutely CAN NOT release your medical records nor information, although they can use your information for statistic purposes but your name and stuff like that (except age and sex probably) will not be attached to the research.

If a close friend of yours just walk in there & ask for your record or even the dates you were in the hospital/doctors office Medical Record Techs are not even allowed to give them the dates you were in the hospital, to my understanding.

There are certain times that the information can be reported to regulatory and law enforcement authorities without your consent.The quote is from the first source. The second source has extensive information on when information can be released without your consent.

"Get a report on when and why your health information was shared

Under the law, your health information may be used and shared for particular reasons, like making sure doctors give good care, making sure nursing homes are clean and safe, reporting when the flu is in your area, or making required reports to the police, such as reporting gunshot wounds. In many cases, you can ask for and get a list of who your health information has been shared with for these reasons.

You can get this report for free once a year. In most cases you should get the report within 60 days, but it can take an extra 30 days if you are given a reason."

BTW, the Hippocratic Oath dates from the 4th century BC.

completely true, they are bound by the hypocratic oath to not speak to anyone other than the patient(excluding minors and their parents). If they break this doctor-patient confidentiality, it is a felony and you can sue them