[Med-privacy] Insurer seeks personal details on mental health form

[Peter Marshall]

Insurer seeks personal details on mental health form - Experts question 
plan by Blue Cross

The Boston Globe - 11/11/06 - The state's largest health insurer wants 
mental health patients to begin routinely filling out forms that 
include detailed questions about their sleep patterns, sex lives, and 
suicidal thoughts. The questionnaire, designed to gauge a patient's 
state of mind, is part of an effort by Blue Cross Blue Shield of 
Massachusetts to measure the quality of mental health treatment its 
members receive. About 100,000 Blue Cross subscribers will receive the 
form, which was described in a mailing last week to psychiatrists and 
other mental health counselors.

[Patient Privacy Rights]