[katbyte]

I dissagree. If I have some sensitive medical history and I go in for stitches or some other minor thing with an random doctor I might not want to share all my medical history. It’s my history and I should have the right to control who sees it.

[ambicapter]

You are not a medical professional and the list of medical procedures or remedies that interact poorly with each other is long and full of unexpected things.

[fao_]

While this is true, knowledge of other treatments can in a number of cases actually harm the patient as well through malpractice.

See: https://journals.tdl.org/jrwg/index.php/jrwg/article/view/97

https://www.dailydot.com/irl/trans-broken-arm-syndrome-healt...

https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2015/07/09/feature-the-dangers-of...

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-lgbt-health/briti...

Sure this is a minority, but it still harms people.

[drb91]

Your profession should not dictate your rights to your data.

[ambicapter]

No one is stopping you from accessing your data. The question is to whether you should be able to stop your doctor (or your emergency doctor) from accessing your medical data. Sounds like a bad idea.

[int_19h]

It might well be, but shouldn't it be up to you to decide that? It's your private data.

[freedomben]

Agreed. It's your private data and it's also your body! If you end up getting worse treatment due to not sharing data, it's on you. As an adult and the owner of my body, that's my right to decide for myself.

[yomly]

Quite surprised to see such strong opinions on this issue - I can obviously sympathise with a desire to privacy but personally hold faith in doctor confidentiality.

More pressingly - how can a doctor provide the best care in the absence of records?

Imagine trying to ship a bugfix for a complex system where you don't have the source code and the business owner is refusing to give you the documentation but will sue you and ruin your career if you make a mistake.

I'd probably refuse to see the patient given how much pressure doctors are under to not make a mistake.

What happens if you got a nasty gash and wanted the wound treated and the doctor wanted to issue antibiotics as a precaution but you had a penicillin allergy (which you either forgot to disclose or simply didn't know about but were tested for at some stage in your childhood)

[Spooky23]

The real question that matters most in the ER is “What is your date of birth?”

[leetcrew]

just because something is a bad idea doesn't mean you shouldn't be allowed to do it.

[davidw]

I'd rather opt out of a few sensitive things than not have an ER doctor in another state not have easy access to critical information about me.