Making an appointment for your adult child

[Anonymous]

Can the dad call and schedule the appointment and simply act as if he’s your son when he’s calling? The person on the phone isn’t going to know it’s not your son.

[Anonymous]

The Counseling Center Group in Bethesda will allow you to make an appointment for an intake for your young adult. Once the appointment is made, no additional information will be shared unless they sign a release of information. While it’s best for our kids to do these things for themselves, not every young adult is capable especially if there are mental health issues.

I ran into the same issue at the Ross Center when DD turned 18.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe it's solely due to the fact that this is a psychiatry appointment? I made a dentist's appointment for my 19 year old just last week. But I've never tried making a psych one for him as an adult.

I do it all the time for my 20 year old for med checks. Never had a problem

[Anonymous]

BTDT poster here. Mental health is different. Providers won’t even acknowledge that someone is a patient without authorization in writing from the patient. I have had to get a signed authorization from my son to do everything - handle billing, request medication refills, make appointments, etc. And even with that, if I try to do something by email or text and my son isn’t on the thread, my son will be added by the provider.

Confidentiality is highly respected by my son’s providers. It has been annoying and difficult at times. Like when he went missing and hospitals wouldn’t tell me if he was there. But given the stigma of mental health issues, I really respect and appreciate that level of service for my son.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What you’re missing in this. You need to do what your child needs you to do. And to get it done, you need to follow the rules set by others that control the process. What you’re missing is that you’re wasting energy questioning. Just do it the way they require it to be done and move on to what you can control. And I’m a BTDT.

OP here. I’m not unwilling, but DC may be unable. Which is why they need the appointment to begin with.

I think the only alternative would be to go to the ER, which doesn’t feel like a better (or necessary) option.

If they are unable because they’re are in crisis, an ER is probably the best option. If they are unable because they lack competence, you might want to consider guardianship. If they are unwilling, that’s a different issue.

For us, a requirement of living in our house is having a signed authorization for mental health providers. I only use it when necessary like to secure medication refills and take care of billing. And not too long ago, there was a medication change where the provider wanted information from the family as to how things were going, which was a non issue since the authorization was in place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC is 18 and is struggling with mental health (ongoing issues, but currently in a worse-than-usual place). I called the doctor’s office today to make them an appointment and was told that either DC needs to make the appointment, or they need to sign a waiver. (DC claims to have already signed the waiver, but that’s a different issue.)

I understand medical privacy, but I don’t get why medical privacy would prevent me from assisting my child with scheduling. In this case, it seems like putting this on DC right now creates a potential threat to DC’s health with no obvious privacy advantage.

What am I missing?

You got an idiot on the phone. Call them again at a different time.

No they are 18 there is nothing a parent can do.

You are an idiot.

God damn it. Just STOP with the name-calling. Especially on a thread involving mental health. What is WRONG with you people?

[Anonymous]

You need to get the form signed immediately.

My 21 yo dd has mental health issues and I sometimes need to take over. The irony that mental illness prevents one from getting the help needed.

Good luck and ignore the aholes who think parenting ends at 18.

[Anonymous]

Probably should get a waiver for all of your child’s care at this point.

Maybe even consult with lawyer.

[Anonymous]

I make appointments for my 19yo, just did so last month.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I make appointments for my 19yo, just did so last month.

Then either your provider has authorization from your 19 year old or your provider does not respect your
19 year old’s right to privacy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I work in healthcare. There is no regulation that prevents you from scheduling an appointment (only accessing appointment information after the fact). I have made appointments for my young adult children and also for my old adult mother. All of these people can and do make their own appointments as well, but for various reasons I have sometimes needed to schedule. Frankly the office you’re working with is being ridiculous under the circumstances I would look elsewhere. It’s OK to help your young adult child through a difficult time and the practical side of scheduling appointments can be a nightmare.

Our dentist always says "we really need to hear from your kid, they are over 18". I tell them that is not likely to happen as they are busy and have anxiety and hate making phone calls. It's like they've signed the forms previously to allow you to deal with me, the contact information is literally my email and cell phone because that is how my kid put it. I'm only scheduling an appointment, I'm not asking to see medical records.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I make appointments for my 19yo, just did so last month.

Then either your provider has authorization from your 19 year old or your provider does not respect your
19 year old’s right to privacy.

HIPAA does not apply to making appointments. I make them for. Y elderly parents and kids all the time. At no point are medical records discussed. We also pay someone who occasionally makes appointments on my dad’s behalf. You’re talking out your a$$

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I make appointments for my 19yo, just did so last month.

Then either your provider has authorization from your 19 year old or your provider does not respect your
19 year old’s right to privacy.

HIPAA does not apply to making appointments. I make them for. Y elderly parents and kids all the time. At no point are medical records discussed. We also pay someone who occasionally makes appointments on my dad’s behalf. You’re talking out your a$$

Healthcare provider here – this is accurate. Anyone can make an appointment, HIPAA refers to medical records. The fact that some practices have decided they won’t allow adults to schedule for other adults is a practice policy not regulatory.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I make appointments for my 19yo, just did so last month.

Then either your provider has authorization from your 19 year old or your provider does not respect your
19 year old’s right to privacy.

HIPAA does not apply to making appointments. I make them for. Y elderly parents and kids all the time. At no point are medical records discussed. We also pay someone who occasionally makes appointments on my dad’s behalf. You’re talking out your a$$

Healthcare provider here – this is accurate. Anyone can make an appointment, HIPAA refers to medical records. The fact that some practices have decided they won’t allow adults to schedule for other adults is a practice policy not regulatory.

Allowing someone other than a patient to make an appointment is an admission that the patient is actually a patient if the practice. Due to the stigma of receiving mental health treatment, many or maybe most providers will only allow an adult patient to make the appointment unless there is an authorization on file.

[Anonymous]

I have made my 19 year olds psychiatric appointments many times. I think you just got an odd reception at the one you called.