Trump has asked Walter Reid to sign agreements with doctors in 2019 that will not be disclosed

WASHINGTON – Walter Reid National Military Medical Center needs staff to sign President Donald Trump Non-disclosure agreements Before they got involved in treating him last year, four people who were familiar with the process reported.

Nov. Walter Reid, who refused to sign the NDA, said at least two doctors were not allowed to make any involvement in the president’s care later.

The reason for his trip last year Hidden in mystery.

Four people familiar with the process wondered if he had the same need during the president’s most recent visit over the weekend. Walter Reed Staff previously uninvolved in his care.

Federal law automatically prohibits anyone who provides medical services to the president – or any other American – from disclosing a patient’s personal health information without permission. The existing legal protections for all patients under the Health Insurance Transfer and Accountability Act or HIPAA raise the question of why Trump would insist on Walter Reid signing staff. NDAs.

“Any doctor who cares about the president is bound by the HIPAA-guaranteed patient physician confidentiality, and I will not comment on internal procedures beyond that,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere said in a statement.

In addition, all the staff assigned to the White House Medical Division treat the President and the Vice President on a daily basis, “he said.Yankee White“Security permits. To be licensed, they must be U.S. citizens and undergo extensive background checks.

Transparency about Trump’s health has been a concern since the White House announced last week that it had tested positive for the corona virus, and the president appears to be tightly restricting information that his doctors are authorized to share with the public. When Trump last tested negative for the virus, Dr. Sean Conley, the president’s physician, declined to answer key questions such as whether the disease had caused him to develop pneumonia.

Several times in recent days, Navy officer Conley has refused to release information about Trump’s health, citing HIPAA.

“We did regular routine imaging and I’m not free to discuss,” Conley told reporters Monday, asking if the president had pneumonia or swelling in his lungs.

Conley’s written updates on Trump’s health include the caption “I release the following information with the permission of President Donald J. Trump.”

Walter Reid spokeswoman Norris Agnew told NBC News to comment to the White House.

Trump has routinely demanded that employees of his company, the Trump organization, sign contracts that are not disclosed. He continued training When he competed with the president and some White House officials after taking office.

Arthur Kaplan, director of medical ethics at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, says some celebrities and wealthy businessmen are asking their doctors to sign NDAs, although they do not need to protect their privacy.

“Ethically and legally you can ask for a National Democratic Alliance, but you don’t need one,” Kaplan said. “Doctors cannot share information with anyone except the person caring for the patient or the person billing the patient. In the end it is up to the patient whether the doctor can share the information or not.

“This is more unnecessary than unethical. The presumption is privacy first,” he said, adding that doctors who violate privacy rules could face serious consequences.

As his corona virus diagnosis became public on October 1, Trump sought to present an image of strength, with carefully danced public appearances, so that he could find any information about his health that would undermine that description.

Trump spent three nights in Walter Reed after the White House announced a positive test. He was discharged Monday and returned to the White House.

After Trump’s unplanned trip to Walter Reed last year, the White House said he would be there to complete some parts of his annual physical examination, which is usually done on a visit after the New Year.

“In anticipation of a very busy 2020, the president is starting some parts of his regular annual physical examination at Walter Reed using a free weekend in Washington D.C.,” said Stephanie Grisham, then White House press secretary. A statement.

Trump’s previous two physical exams as president were announced in advance, and medical staff at Walter Reed were widely announced in anticipation of the high-profile visit. None of those measures were taken before Trump’s visit last year.