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The New Health Care And It’s Affect On Private Medical Testing
By Andrew M. Gibson | April 28, 2010
Now that the Health Care Reform Act has become law, privacy advocacy groups are naturally concerned about the effects upon patient’s confidential medical information. One of the key components of the new law is the sharing of important medical information through new technologies in order to create a comprehensive database of medical records. The goals of such a system are noteworthy: better care by hospitals, physicians, insurance companies, and pharmacies by being able to have an instant picture of an individual’s medical history. No one can deny that such a system would be a caregiver’s utopia…if executed correctly and efficiently.
Unfortunately, very few large scale initiatives by our government have ever been implemented in that manner, and the scale of this one is unlike anything we have been faced with before. But even though many of the pieces of the new health care system are years from being implemented, people are already taking notice and starting to be concerned about who can see their private medical information.
One industry that has already been offering confidential medical testing for the past twenty plus years is the online STD Testing industry. Started during the rise of HIV and Aids awareness, these companies, staffed with fully trained counselors and medical personnel, began offering confidential and quick STD testing to the one hundred million sexually active adults in the United States. Prior to this, the only option an individual had was to go see his or her physician, or to visit one of the crowded, understaffed free health clinics. In each of those scenarios, a detailed record was kept of what activity caused your concern, what types of testing you had performed, and the results of each test.
While one might normally want as much possible information to show up on their health record, this type of testing might not be so welcome. As insurance providers started assembling more and more data on pre-existing conditions in order to rate potential customers, concerns began to rise. These “black marks” on one’s health record could possibly cause their already sky rocketing insurance rates to go up even more, and maybe even deny them coverage due to what might be considered “risky behavior”.
Now, individuals can instead contact one of the many private testing companies, schedule the test at their convenience, and get their results in as little as one day. And all of this is done in private, without anything showing up on your permanent health record. Many industry experts see this trend growing as more parts of the health care law go into effect, and they are not only talking about STD testing. General wellness testing and DNA testing are now being offered and can give valuable insight into a person’s overall health and into any possible issues they might be prone to in their life. And only you know the tests you chose to take, and the results of each.
Have any concerns or questions regarding std testing or need to find a private std testing center? Visit Andrew M. Gibson’s blog at www.stdtestingservices.com or feel free to email him for more information at agibson@localtestingservices.com.
Topics: STD Testing | No Comments »