Confidentiality in an Age of Managed Care: Can It Exist?

Adolescents in need of medical care can be greatly influenced by concerns about privacy; therefore confidentiality remains one of the foundations of adolescent health care. This article discusses confidentiality and quality adolescent care in different settings of managed care. With consent laws that vary from state to state and different administrative restrictions of managed care, confidentiality of adolescent health care often may be compromised, causing adolescents to look outside the health care insurer for the medical help they need. The author discusses the benefits of HMO models able to provide easily accessible, quality confidential care to adolescents, including preventive adolescent medicine.