TABLE IV.
Attitudes Toward Medical Provider, Insurer, and Employer Confidentiality⋆
| Text of question | CF | SCD | DM | HIV | BC-A | BC-AR | CC-A | CC-AR | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I don’t mind if my medical provider gives medical information about me to other providers when it is for my benefit (n = 580)a | 88.1 | 86.9 | 84.3 | 70.4 | 80.0 | 51.1 | 93.6 | 66.0 | 79.4 |
| People frequently are harmed when medical providers release information about them (n = 591) | 23.0 | 32.7 | 17.3 | 43.9 | 14.3 | 35.6 | 36.2 | 26.0 | 28.6 |
| When medical providers promise they will keep information confidential, they usually keep these promises (n = 591) | 77.2 | 70.7 | 72.6 | 78.8 | 56.0 | 75.6 | 66.7 | 72.0 | 72.4 |
| The law should punish medical providers who give patients’ information to other providers without permission (n = 593) | 70.3 | 68.4 | 58.7 | 77.6 | 68.0 | 62.2 | 66.0 | 62.0 | 67.3 |
| I don’t mind if my health care provider gives medical information about me to my health insurance company without my permission (n = 592) | 9.00 | 19.2 | 20.6 | 20.2 | 22.0 | 8.89 | 23.4 | 18.0 | 17.6 |
| Doctors should be punished if they release medical information about patients to health insurance companies without permission (n = 597) | 73.3 | 72.7 | 69.6 | 76.0 | 62.5 | 82.2 | 66.0 | 81.6 | 72.9 |
| Employers should be allowed to get medical information about people without their permission (n = 590) | 2.97 | 5.05 | 2.97 | 2.02 | 4.08 | 0.00 | 8.51 | 2.04 | 3.39 |
| Doctors should be punished if they release medical information about patients to employers without their permission (n = 590) | 80.2 | 79.8 | 79.2 | 82.7 | 75.5 | 86.7 | 83.0 | 76.0 | 80.3 |
⋆
Shown are the percentages of respondents reporting that they agree with the statements indicated. The total number of responses for each question is shown in parentheses. DM, diabetes mellitus; A, affected; AR, at risk.
a
Overall Pearson chi-square by disease group; P < 0.05.