[aestra]

A doctor already talks to family members when treating patients. Unless the patient has signed a release, the doctor can't talk back about the patient, their medical status, or history, but the family member is free to tell the doctor anything they want about the patient. This is especially good when the patient is very sick and doesn't know it, ie, mental illness. Or something along the lines of "he gets up every night and eats out of the refrigerator and he doesn't know he does it!" The family member who lives with the patient is sometimes better at observing symptoms that the patient misses. When I had a polysomnography (sleep study) done, there was a questionnaire specifically for the person who I shared a bed with, who observed me sleeping.

The family member might be able to tell the doctor a lot more about the patient then the doctor is able to get out of the patient. This has worked wonders in treating my dad, because he isn't able to really talk about his symptoms for whatever reason, he just can't describe them well, or doesn't think some of them are a problem that others are concerned about. My mom observes them, goes to the doctor with him, and tells the doctor what is going on with him.

>I may not want my test results to be shared with the insurance company, who will then charge me more.

That has nothing to do with this. If you don't want to share test results with insurance, then don't. Don't submit the claim to the insurance company, they don't pay for it, and nobody knows the results except you, the lab, and your doctor. If you want anyone else to know, you sign a release. That's how HIPPA works. This has nothing to do with doctors Googleing you.