Nothing like being provoked into thought on a Monday afternoon. In my blog-surfing, I ran across a commentary that poses an interesting question: If any sort of medical test you had done indicated you were at risk for diabetes, would you want your local health department to know? As of this past January, the New York Department of Health requires medical labs to report if someone's lab results show that they're even at risk for diabetes -- not that they actually have it. If you're on the list, you're entered into a program in which you simply receive a letter telling you you're at risk. Nothing else. Just a letter. With a diabetes epidemic on the rise across the nation, the program might not seem like such a bad idea but I beg to differ. Like U Penn professor and New York Newsday columnist Arthur Caplan, I think that the program has its priorities in reverse. We should put more emphasis on diabetes prevention. I know that for many a prevention message is too late but I just don't see why the local health department has to know if you and your doctor can instead map out a focused diabetes management plan. Also, as Caplan also points out, if we accept diabetes notices now, what's next? Letters telling us we're candidates for cirrhosis, emphysema, sexually transmitted diseases or worse? Would these letters then be considered public information for anyone -- like potential employers -- to track down? That's enough to make my own blood (sugar) rise. Also seems like a waste of administrative time, paper and postage; surely resources could be better spent. What do you think?