As a career sex crime prosecutor, I am well aware of victim reluctance to disclose personal details of sexual assault. Many survivors are understandably reluctant to reveal particularly traumatic, embarrassing, shameful, or humiliating aspects of an assault. Yet when post-assault medical care is required, treating physicians and staff need to know the details to ensure adequate medical care. The same type of transparency is vitally important in all other types of medical treatment as well.
For most people, one of the most sensitive areas within which we share information is personal health. Humanity is the great equalizer in the sense that everyone has some type of physical, mental, or emotional vulnerability they would rather not discuss. We fear rejection, judgment, social disapproval, stigma, or alienation—particularly when facing a rare or unusual diagnosis of some kind. Yet effective health care and treatment require honesty and transparency.........