US President Donald Trump required staff at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to sign nondisclosure agreements (NDA) last November before treating him.
During a surprise trip to Walter Reed on November 16, 2019, Trump insisted on getting signed NDAs from both physicians and nonmedical staff, NBC sources revealed on Thursday.
The reason for his trip last year remains unknown.
At least two doctors at Walter Reed who refused to sign the agreements were not allowed to be involved with the president's care.
Anyone providing medical services to the president is prohibited by federal law from disclosing their personal health information without consent. But this raises the question of why Trump would insist on getting the NDAs signed.
"Any physician caring for the President is bound by patient-physician confidentiality guaranteed under HIPAA, and I'm not going to comment on internal procedures beyond that," White House Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere said in a statement.
This comes as contradictory messages have raised concerns about the transparency over Trump's health.
Dr Sean Conley, the president's physician, has refused to answer basic questions like: “Does the president have pneumonia? Why did he start taking dexamethasone? When did Trump last test negative for the virus?”
On Sunday, Dr Conley revealed the president had been put on supplementary oxygen, after previously denying it to reporters.
Trump spent four days at the Walter Reed Medical Center and claimed he felt "much better" as he returned to the White House on Tuesday.
Since his coronavirus diagnosis became public on October 1, Trump has been playing down the severity of his virus, claiming he's been feeling "much better" and was only hospitalised out of "precautionary measures".
NBC sources did not know whether the president's recent visit had the same requirements for staff members who had not previously been involved in his care.
