Doctors find it a bit more than amusing when they see online searches such as:

Who did Audrina’s Breast Implants?

Who did Pamela Anderson’s Plastic Surgery?

and the like.

The reason is simple: this information is protected by health care privacy laws. If the doctor were to let it get out (without the patient’s permission) he could be prosecuted or sued. Penalties in California for this kind of thing went up in the last few years.

A few months ago I received a letter from HHS (Health and Human Services) about a post I made here. It was regarding information I found on the Internet about a person who had never been my patient. That person contacted HHS saying that I had compromised his privacy. Little did he know that when he went to court, the resultant documents would render his private information public. That was where I found it. HHS closed the case and Dr D was cleared.

The bottom line is that a doctor is expected to hold his patient’s health information private unless the patient gives him permission to make it public.

My point is: Celebrities really don’t do that very often do they?

Best Regards,

John Di Saia MD