Originally Posted by antisuck

Does anybody know offhand what (if any) complications these laws introduce when a physician is asked to provide information directly to me, the patient, over the phone, rather than by way of another office appointment?

My wife and I had a very unpleasant experience recently. She has a history of threatening cervical cancer and an unrelated condition that tends to progress to diabetes over time, and the woman who called to follow up after my wife's recent checkup told her that she needed to come in for another appointment and refused to state why, or give any information regarding these concerns due to "privacy issues". After two weeks of sleepless nights fearing the worst, the appointment finally came. The sensitive and important information the docter needed to discuss face-to-face? That my wife is in perfect health except for very slightly elevated blood pressure, which is being addressed with some dietary adjustments.

So my question is: do the current laws actually prohibit revealing information to the patient him- or herself over the phone? Or was the doctor in question just padding his bill with an unnecessary office visit, and being a bit insensitive in the process?