Adderall prescription

[Skxptical]

Hi guys, long time lurker here, but I decided to make an account because I heard something from a friend whose parents are both doctors.

His parents have told him that having ADD and an adderall prescription for it could possibly hurt you in med school admissions. He said that med schools can look into your insurance payments or something and find out that you are prescribed through that. He went on to say that because of this, they pay for his prescription with cash and not insurance so that there's no proof that he takes it.

I find this incredibly hard to believe, not only due to the major invasion of privacy for admissions to look at your insurance history, but also a direct discrimination against psychological disorders. Whatever your personal beliefs on ADD/ADHD, I think this is akin to an admissions board seeing that you are on anti-depressants by looking into your medical records, and denying you as a result.

This can't possibly hold any truth, can it?

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[WedgeDawg]

Based on your post, I think you know the answer to this question.

 

[carpediem22]

That's nice that your friend can afford to pay for his prescriptions out of pocket, but most Americans don't have that luxury. I am nearly positive that discriminating based on psychological diagnosis violates the American with Disabilities act, so pretty sure you're fine.

 

[BeMD13]

They are probably talking about the state controlled substance record. In Ohio it is called OARRS or something like that. Any doctor or pharmacist can look you up and see the controlled substances you use but they can do that whether you use insurance or pay out of pocket. However, they have to document why they look people up and aren't allowed to just be nosy. I wouldn't doubt that it sometimes happens anyway though.

 

[Skxptical]

They are probably talking about the state controlled substance record. In Ohio it is called OARRS or something like that. Any doctor or pharmacist can look you up and see the controlled substances you use but they can do that whether you use insurance or pay out of pocket. However, they have to document why they look people up and aren't allowed to just be nosy. I wouldn't doubt that it sometimes happens anyway though.

Yeah I know about that, but that's when dealing with patients, right? My friend was talking about this as if it's like a background check that's a red flag like an MIP or something

 

[efle]

Adcoms absolutely will not go looking for what applicants are being prescribed. Unless he mentions the ADD in apps/interview they will not know about it.

 

[deleted393595]

Hi guys, long time lurker here, but I decided to make an account because I heard something from a friend whose parents are both doctors.

His parents have told him that having ADD and an adderall prescription for it could possibly hurt you in med school admissions. He said that med schools can look into your insurance payments or something and find out that you are prescribed through that. He went on to say that because of this, they pay for his prescription with cash and not insurance so that there's no proof that he takes it.

I find this incredibly hard to believe, not only due to the major invasion of privacy for admissions to look at your insurance history, but also a direct discrimination against psychological disorders. Whatever your personal beliefs on ADD/ADHD, I think this is akin to an admissions board seeing that you are on anti-depressants by looking into your medical records, and denying you as a result.

This can't possibly hold any truth, can it?

HIPAA protects patient records.

 

[BeMD13]

Yeah I know about that, but that's when dealing with patients, right? My friend was talking about this as if it's like a background check that's a red flag like an MIP or something

It is definitely supposed to be just for patients and it is a big deal to violate proper usage. However, a friend of mine is on a selection committee for a highly competitive residency and he told me about it. He never specifically told me it happened but he did tell me to be careful what I take. It made me nervous because I'm on adderall.

 

[Cytarabine]

They are probably talking about the state controlled substance record. In Ohio it is called OARRS or something like that. Any doctor or pharmacist can look you up and see the controlled substances you use but they can do that whether you use insurance or pay out of pocket. However, they have to document why they look people up and aren't allowed to just be nosy. I wouldn't doubt that it sometimes happens anyway though.

I'm not sure offhand if amphetamines are on this list, but it's a major no no to use that for anyone you aren't personally treating

 

[TraumaLlamaMD]

I'd rather have a co-resident who takes Adderall if she needs it than one who doesn't and suffers from untreated ADHD. Just saying.

 

[DesitnationMD]

HIPAA protects patient records.

Hospital worker pre-med here. HIPPA + 1000000. I run the IT system for an ER as well as clerk for the ICU. I can't even check out individual files for test purposes w/o disclosing and going through all kinds of checks. Don't be so paranoid. If some rouge adcom wants to abuse their power, they will, but most hae way too much to lose to do something like that.

 

[Cytarabine]

Hospital worker pre-med here. HIPPA + 1000000. I run the IT system for an ER as well as clerk for the ICU. I can't even check out individual files for test purposes w/o disclosing and going through all kinds of checks. Don't be so paranoid. If some rouge adcom wants to abuse their power, they will, but most hae way too much to lose to do something like that.

Do you not have dummy patient records to do that stuff for? Seems like a hassle when you could just use a fake medical record (unless there's a reason you can't)

 

[Spector1]

HIPPA regulations are pretty strict. I'm a bit skeptical about what your friend says

 

[DesitnationMD]

Do you not have dummy patient records to do that stuff for? Seems like a hassle when you could just use a fake medical record (unless there's a reason you can't)

It depends on the system being tested but yup, sometimes we have to field test the real system and massive amounts of data. Medical school and University IT staff do similar tests with real student files all the time too because they own your data. With hospital and financial companies (my friends do IT for firms) there is a dedicated system to handling field tests and patient/financial data. On us the laws are much more explicit and everything on our end is identified by a # when we use it 99% of the time. Its not my job btu there are people whose job it is to watch the patient access systems and analyze who is looking up what, and seeing it if is reasonable. People will often try to look up friends data or even family data or even their own records, and that's still a no-no. Your friend is most likely blowing smoke or spreading hearsay.

 

[Doug Underhill]

Those are some serious ethical and legal violations. Who would admit to such a horrendous thing on SDN?

At any rate, it certainly isn't true.