I think that’s fine. But he can’t tell you about Tiny Johnson’s medical conditions, like if, … you know… it really is. 
It’s entirely possible that Ms. Taylor has given her Doctor open permission to answer that question. I’m sure it comes up at least monthly, or did when she was more active.
This is also quite possibly the case.
Plus, for all we know, he did answer the question the way Ferret Herder said, and stoid just simplified.
Wait, wait, wait. I just looked and I have double eyelashes. At least. Is that not usual? What sort of eyelashes do people usually have?
… I’m going to accost people in the canteen now. For science!
Me too: one on the top, and one on the bottom.
colours in area of pie-chart in blue crayon, nods approvingly
What the hell are double eyelashes? Regardless of what color Liz Taylor’s eyes are or aren’t, this is the part I’m not getting.
One lash each place!? Wow!
I think it means that on the top, for instance, you’ll have TWO rows of eyelashes, one on top of the other. The default, of course, is one row of lashes on the top, one on the bottom— double eyelashes appear to be two rows in each place.
Honestly, I’ve never looked closely at anybody’s eyelashes (and I’m amazed that decorating them is probably a multi-billion dollar industry), but I would think eyelashes aren’t so perfectly aligned with each other that they define a single line. Am I wrong here?
I was going to ask that, too. And even if the doctor is permitted to admit Liz Taylor is his patient, doesn’t HIPPA prohibit him from discussing anything about her records?
Her affectionately autographed photo hangs on his examining room wall.
The color of her eyes is not a medical condition, and he has not treated them for their color, he corrects her vision, something we have not discussed.
“While I can’t discuss her eyes specifically, I can say that violet eyes are an illusion created by…” would be a lame way to answer the question.
I just looked at my eyelashes. I have one singular row on the bottom, and a double row up top. What do I win?
Like Minnie Luna, the lashes on my lower lid seem to grow in a single line. Up top, though, it’s all willy-nilly - they’re growing all over the place, some low, some high, some directly underneath others. There doesn’t seem to be any order to it at all. Very strange.
On the other hand, I don’t know if it isn’t stranger that I haven’t given any thought 'till just now about how my eyelashes grow. It’s a whole day of weirdness!
yep. My first thought.
I seriously don’t get you guys. he wasn’t discussing a medical condition of hers, or something that was a secret. As others have pointed out, she’s not the only person on earth whose eyes appear to be violet.
He violated no confidence of any kind.
If the discussion went as you say in your OP, he absolutely did violate her confidence, unless she gave him explicit condition to discuss the medical details of her eyes with other patients.
You asked hem about HER eyes, and he explained why HER eyes looked the way they did. That violates the very core of patient confidentiality,
Bullpucky.
It’s not a “medical condition”. She has what appear to be violet eyes. So do lots of people. The reason is the same for all of them. It is no more discussing a “medical condition” than if I was seeing the same dermatologist as she does and I asked him why her skin is white and he said “lack of melanin”.
I worked in a hospital dealing with patient medical information. I had a copy of the HIPPA rules at my desk. I’ve taken courses in HIPPA compliance. You have no idea what you are talking about.