Yes. For example, let's say you are at a party, and you are in deep conversation with a physician friend, and you tell them about your hemorrhoids or a yeast infection, etc., this is confidential between you and the physician friend, and the physician friend is sworn to keep this confidential, even though he/she is not YOUR physician. Same goes for a pharmacist. If you bump into a pharmacist friend in the grocery store, and wind up discussing that you are pregnant, that pharmacist cannot legally tell anyone that you are pregnant. It is considered confidential, because you confided your medical problems to someone who is a healthcare professional, most likely, BECAUSE, they are a healthcare professional. There have been lawsuits brought about for breaches in these confidences. There is a reason for the individual to believe that they are telling these personal things in confidence, which is good enough for HIPAA. Now, let's say that your best friend is a nurse, and you have colon cancer, and you ask her to go to your doctor appointment with you, and you fill out the form in the doctor's office that she can call anytime for information regarding your health, and the physician's office can contact her if necessary. There is a presumption by the patient that the nurse friend will keep these things confidential, BECAUSE she is a nurse. You shouldn't have to tell a physician, nurse, or pharmacist to keep things confidential, because they know that they are. But, if you tell your best friend who is a cashier at Wal-Mart, you can forget any expectation of confidence, because they have no legal responsibility to keep anything confidential. Make sense?
