Why do doctor's office ask for your social security number?

Whenever you visit a doctor or a new physician for the first time, the receptionist asks you to fill out a form while you wait in the waiting room. Why is your social security being asked?

So if you don't pay they can hunt you down and hound you tell hell freezes over.

They usually ask for SS numbers to keep track of you for their records because it should be only associated with you and no one else. Most medical insurance companies used it too but have started changing to a separate numbering system. You really don't have to give the doctors office your SS number if you don't want to.

identification
they ask to distinguish patients with same name
some doctors don't ask they just use date of birth
it is a means to bill correctly and insure your past medical history is used for you and not someone with your name

it varies by doctor and doctor groups
it is NOT some conspiracy

They may ask you for it --- but you do not need to supply it. You may need to pay CASH for the visit --- they have no explicit legal right to that datum.

Currently the government is sub-rosa seeking medical records via SSN under the guise the that an HSA (Health Savings Account) is part of the IRS bailiwick ---

Out of respect for you medical privacy --- never use the SSN for medical data --- You do not need Kennedy, Kerry, or Clinton looking at charts to ascertain your sexual history.



Medical privacy should be absolute and totally controlled by the patient.

They don't want to accidentally mix you up with someone with the same exact name, so they use that as a key. You can ask that they use some other means to uniquely identify you.

You should question hard anyone that asks your SSN, especially privte parties and double especially when it is goin gto be tied to other private information.

Most doctors do it out of habit, and their habits may predate current identity theft issues.

They don't really need it.

It may be used as a unique identifier, in which case they will be happy to let you choose some random number not already in their system.


If they insist, find another doctor, because if they want you to be so fast and free with your private information, why shouldn't you expect they will be fast and free with their data protection practices also in violation of HIPAA?