I have been personally bit by these medical "privacy" laws, and that was long before the Patriot Act, so you must be right.

Sometimes, a persons health can have a direct impact on both family and non-family members and they should have a right to know, or tell, what that history involves.

Either way, there were several days when everyone that had been around the guy that got bit were left wondering if they'd been exposed to an infectious disease.

As it stands, these laws are poorly thought out and implemented. The example above, especially in light of the current times, proves this without a doubt. Had this fellow actually exposed those near him they would have been exposing the public for several days without knowing, or even having the right to know.

Crazy.

Bill