Confidential health services for adolescents

Article Abstract:

Provision of confidential care is an important step toward increasing teenagers' use of health services and meeting their health needs. Studies have found that teenagers would be more likely to seek medical care, especially for things like depression and drug abuse, if they could do so without their parents knowing. For physicians, the two main barriers to confidential care are laws on informed consent and the payment system. The informed consent laws, designed to protect the rights of minors, are the principle behind the mandatory parental notification laws on abortion. While the intent of these laws is to enhance family relations and to reduce the number of abortions, most evidence indicates that these laws in fact increase teenagers' health risks by delaying abortions or forcing them to give birth. Current insurance payment systems and Medicaid compromise confidentiality because they list services provided on the bill. The Council on Scientific Affairs recommends that the American Medical Association work to address these barriers.

Health aspects, Privacy, Social policy, Teenagers, Youth, American Medical Association. Council on Scientific Affairs

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Effect of Blinding and Unmasking on the Quality of Peer Review

Article Abstract:

It appears to make no difference whether the reviewer of a manuscript knows who the author is or who the other reviewers are. This information is normally not revealed to reviewers. Researchers sent two copies each of 467 manuscripts submitted to the British Medical Journal to reviewers. Some reviewers knew the identity of the authors and the other reviewers and some did not. There was no difference between the groups in the time taken to review the manuscript, the recommendation to publish it or not, or the quality of the review itself.

Evaluation, Peer review

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Patient-physician confidentiality on trial in Turkey

Article Abstract:

The government of Turkey is investigating a medical clinic in Adana that treats victims of torture. The public prosecutor has requested the files on the patients being treated at the Torture Treatment and Rehabilitation Center in Adana, but the physicians have refused on the grounds that it would violate patient-physician confidentiality. The clinic is one of four in Turkey operate by the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey. Members of the Foundation have been harassed for publishing documents exposing widespread torture in Turkey.

Political aspects, Turkey, Human rights, Torture victims

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