WARNING!
This is an older article that may not reflect Dr. Mercola’s current view on this topic. Use our search engine to find Dr. Mercola’s latest position on any health topic.
If you believe that your medical and personal information should be kept in strict privacy, you may be in for an unpleasant surprise. Your medical information is not actually private -- you sell it without realizing it.
If you look at your office bill or EOB (explanation of benefits), you'll see coded numbers (CPT and ICD9). Those numbers tell your insurance company or Medicare all of the information about your visit and treatment. They not only get the bill with all of its coding, they have the right to look through your chart and any other charts in any other doctor's office, any time.