I've been on Ridolin for about a year now. Everything was fine. I went to all of my appointments, never canceled a single one. Three weeks ago my doctor decided that I needed to go to a psychologist ( the same one that diagnosed me with ADHD) and also have a psych evaluation done otherwise I could no longer have my prescription. When I went to go see the psychologist, he said he didn't understand why I was there and all my doctor would say is that he was concerned with the dosage. I also am filing for divorce from my husband of 23 years. I found out today that 'someone' told the doctor that I was having personality changes and everyone agrees that it was my soon-to-be-ex, even the psychologist. I was never told about any of this, I had to outright ask about it. I want to know if my doctor should have told me about the person saying I was having personality changes rather than assuming it was correct and ordering all this psych stuff.

I don't know where you are at, but typically the doctor should not discuss this info with you. If someone has concerns about you, whether they are well-founded or not, they have the right to contact your doctor. Your doctor, in turn, has a right to make sure that your physical and mental health is taken care of. It is a matter of "privelege" for him to keep the contact person confidential.

From what it sounds, please correct me if I am wrong, your husband may be out to "get" you, kind of like in many divorce cases, so he contacted the doctor. Whether the "condition" is real or not, it is up to the doctor to care for your well-being. So he referred you to what you call a psychologist to make sure your meds are okay for you. He should have referred you to a psychiatrist, cause psychologists do not deal in medication.

That said, once someone, anyone, reports to your doctor that they are concerned for your well-being the doctor must follow up.

Shouldn't my doctor have asked me about this instead of just taking his word for it I knew my doctor was concerned about the dosage and I asked him if mabey their was something else and he said no and he also knew my husband and I are divorcing,and it has to be wrong to threaten me with my meds all of a sudden without any couse.im in mn if that makes a difference

Ethically the doctor must keep it in confidence. Look at it this way. If there is a young child at school who complains of abuse to a teacher, the teacher is ethically and legally bound to contact the correct authorities.

This works the same with a doctor. He MUST keep his sources confidential. This was the subject of my Ethical and Legal class in nursing school just last week.

If the parents of the child who complains of abuse found out that the child accused, then the parents may abuse more so that the child will keep quiet. Do you see where I am going with this?

In the medical field all sources are to be kept confidential. It is a law called the HIPPA Act.

Just like the doctor cannot talk to anyone about your treatment or "illness," if you should have one, he cannot divulge any other info that is given to him.

OK I understand the hippa act but now I don't trust my doctor it seems like if my ex told the police I was selling these and I was arrested and not told why that's how I feel about this 1st why was I being discussed at all.why after my doctor had just seen me seen nothing to even sugest I was having a problem all of a sudden decide I need help.im really angry for not letting me know why all of a sudden I needed a bunch of tests.if the topic was me I should have been informed maby not who said it but at least a chance to talk about it.and tell him to change meds if he was worried about the dosage.

You should have been provided with Informed Consent, which means that the doctor has to explain all of the procedures to you in detail and give you a chance to ask any question you wish.

It may be in your best interest to make another doctor appointment and calmly discuss your concerns.

I am going to find a new docyor because now anything my ex says is going to affect this doctors treatments.I am now stopping my meds because being the way I was before the meds is a lot better then jumping through a bunch of hoops because of something my ex said

Please find a new doc before stopping your meds. It is never a good idea to do this without doctor's guidance. Your meds may have serious side-effects.

Please take care of you and continue the meds until you get a new doc. Believe me, you do NOT want to go through withdrawals, which does happen to some people and you do not know if you are one of them until you try to go off.

I did talk to a doc because I do get sick when I don't take them .just have to cut back a little at a time.

But why do you want to stop altogether? Maybe try a new med if it is needed.

I am glad you talked to a new doc, and yes, cut back slowly. Never stop ANY medication abruptly. It can cause withdrawals that can actually harm your health.

If your doctor spoke with anyone about you without your consent, be it your soon-to-be-ex or anyone else, and acted on their advice without consulting you first, he committed one of the most serious breaches of ethics in the medical profession. You'll probably need to consult with an attorney if you plan to bring him up on charges.

However, S, I will give you an example.

If my grown daughter were acting depressed and suicidal, it would be appropriate for me to contact my daughter's physician regarding my concerns. This is appropriate. However, it would not be appropriate for the doctor to discuss any information with me regarding my daughter's condition other than what I report.

Now then, these two were once married. It may be way back in the chart, but if the wife gave consent to discuss medical conditions with family members (and the family members have to be named) then the doctor did not breach any confidence.

I believe that there is more to this story than we know as of yet.

Nottoday needs to get a copy of the medical records (which is legal) to determine if she did, at one time, give consent to the doctor to discuss her medical condition or treatment with her then husband.

The HIPPA ACT prevents any health care provider from discussing medical conditions or treatment of a patient with anyone other than the patient unless written consent is provided.

Therefore, I believe we are missing a few pieces of the puzzle here.

As you can tell I don't spent a lot of time typing so it looks pretty bad.ok no I never gave my doctor any consent at all to talk to anyone.and no he did not consult me as to why he wanted me to be seen only that if I cancelled the appoitment he would not refill the perscribtion.

What I am trying to say is that if someone calls him with a concern regarding you and/or your health, then he has a duty to make sure you are okay and not at risk for anything.

If he does fails to follow up on concerns he has committed a breach of duty.

He cannot talk to anyone about your condition, but anyone can call him regarding concerns about you.

But there should have been something other than my almost ex's word this doctor has been seeing me for years. Once I started these meds it was every month and not once was there any concern for my mental health.it was very sudden with no explanation at all.even the doc he sent me to was puzzled by this sudden change in my doctor.

I am sorry, but all it takes is one phone call from once "concerned" friend or family member and the doctor has to respond to that concern.

I feel for you as it seems your soon to be ex may be trying to play games, but the doctor did the right thing by following up on the "concern" your ex raised.

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Originally Posted by nottoday

but there should have been something other than my almost ex's word this doctor has been seeing me for years. once i started these meds it was every month and not once was there any concern for my mental health.it was very sudden with no explanation at all.even the doc he sent me to was puzzled by this sudden change in my doctor.

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What we have here could just be concern on the part of your doctor. If a family member came to him and reported symptoms that you were not telling him about, then it seems to me he was being a concerned physician in following up. There is nothing illegal or unethical in listening to another family member or even acting on what was being said. The only ethical issue would be if discussed personal details with this family member without your consent. But there is no indication in your posts that he did so.

Try looking at this from the doctor's point of view. Lets imagine the conversation:

Ex: My wife has been acting strangely lately, mood swings, personality changes etc.
Dr: Thank you for letting me, I'll look into it

If that's all that occurred then I don't think you have any concerns

ScottGem is right on the money with this one.

As I said before, if anyone goes to your doctor with concerns about your physical or mental health (no matter who it is) it is your doctor's responsibility to follow up. That is the law.

If the doc did not follow up, and you were to commit suicide for example, the other members of your family could sue to doctor for malpractice because he did NOT follow up on the concerns reported. He would have committed Breach of Duty.

I talked with a lawyer and I was right he should have explained his concerns and not acted on my exs word alone.he had no basis for thinking I was having any problems with mental health

I agree that he should have explained his concerns to you. However, he does have a duty to act upon the concerns of family members.

I am glad you spoke with an attorney. What do you and the attorney plan to do about the situation if anything?