Scarleteen

I want to go get STD tested at Planned Parenthood and I have a couple of questions (I'm so sorry if this is the wrong place to ask this). If I were to pay without insurance, my results would be private right? And they would stay off my medical record? I just would rather that no one on my insurance plan knows I went and got tested, and what my results are. Thanks!

Hi scarlettheteen welcome to Scarleteen!

Great name! It sounds familiar!

I am not 100% certain with how insurance might work for you, as the healthcare system here where I am is quite different, but i can take a punt:

My guess is that it is confidential as a service, but if it is charged to your insurance, a bill will pass to your insurer, so that they will know that you have received certain services and pay for them, your insurers will also have their policies on confidentiality and what will or won't be visible to other people on the plan. I do imagine the person paying that policy will have access to the information though.

One of our US based staff will probably understand this better. So hopefully they can comment too.

Can I ask why you want to hide having an STI test, and if you've investigated if you have any local free/affordable options?

Hey there! I'm from the US so I might be able to give you some more specific information. You don't mention if you're a minor or not, so I'll give you some information about both situations.

In the US, the HIPAA privacy act is what protects your medical information. If you are over 18, it applies to you fully with no exceptions. If you're a minor, it gives you a lot of authority over your personal information, but there are some exceptions.

As Jacob said above, if you pay through insurance the policyholder will have access to see the billing codes of what treatment you're being billed for. So, the results of your tests won't be visible, but it will show that you had the test. If you choose to pay without insurance, you might still receive a bill or invoice for the services through the mail. If you're seriously concerned for your privacy, you can ask to have the bill mailed to somewhere other than your home address like a P.O. box (which is totally legal for minors to open on their own).

As for the results of the test, if you are over 18 you should have no worries at all. That information is for you alone. If you are a minor, you can request that the information be kept private, but in some states it's ultimately it's up to your healthcare provider. MOST of the time, it's nbd and your provider will protect your privacy (Planned Parenthood has a great track record of this), but there are situations in which your provider might decide it would be appropriate to disclose information or where they might be required to disclose it. Your Planned Parenthood provider should know your state's laws about disclosure, so just ask them and they'll let you know.

As for your medical record, there's kind of no such thing in America (it's kind of a problem). Certain hospital groups keep and share patient records between networks providers, but there's not a universal system for keeping medical records. It's likely that your local PP isn't connected to the same network as your regular doctors, so your other providers probably won't know you had an STD test unless you tell them (again, you can ask your PP provider to make sure if you want).

I understand the feeling of wanting to hide that you're getting tested, but just know that there's no shame in it. You are doing something really smart for your health and that shows a lot of initiative.