Blocked from accessing my tween's medical records on line.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have an older teen with chronic health problems and absolutely loathe HIPPA.

I have to remember to have DC sign papers giving me access at every provider. I have to do the running around when we slip up and forget as DC has limited mobility. In some cases, they ask for a new consent every time new records are requested. I admit I have simply signed DC's name to some consent forms. DC wants me to be present at every appointment, coordinate everything, get medical records, deal with insurance, etc because, well, isn't it enough to be a full time student with several significant chronic illnesses?

When medical offices ask for DC's email, we always put down mine so I create the accounts.

What if DC doesn't have an email? Maybe not the norm for teens today, but I'd bet there are some.

[Anonymous]

I have older kids (13 and 16) and have no trouble ordering their medication. I haven't tried to access their medical records. I appreciate the PP who posted the rationale. I remember working with abused teens many years ago and these sort of laws would have been very beneficial to them in that they could have had privacy to go to adults who would help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If I was 13 and I had an std I wouldn't want my parents to know. Great idea now kids can get treated without their parents knowing,

If a young teen (still a child) is having sex that results in an std or worse, their parents should know, because either the kid is engaging in terrible at risk behavior or the teen it being abused or exploited by someone. That same kid cannot carry her own epipen or inhaler in school without written parent permission, nor can she take her own tylenol at school, yet her parents must jumo through hoops to access her medical info?

This is stupidity at its worst.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If I was 13 and I had an std I wouldn't want my parents to know. Great idea now kids can get treated without their parents knowing,

If a young teen (still a child) is having sex that results in an std or worse, their parents should know, because either the kid is engaging in terrible at risk behavior or the teen it being abused or exploited by someone. That same kid cannot carry her own epipen or inhaler in school without written parent permission, nor can she take her own tylenol at school, yet her parents must jumo through hoops to access her medical info?

This is stupidity at its worst.

+1

Sometimes the person doing the abuse is the parent or the mom's boyfriend. And sometimes the other parent or the mom don't believe it when the teen reports it. I really do see the problems with this type of law, but without information on the rational behind it, it's hard to have a full discussion on the merits and alternatives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If I was 13 and I had an std I wouldn't want my parents to know. Great idea now kids can get treated without their parents knowing,

If a young teen (still a child) is having sex that results in an std or worse, their parents should know, because either the kid is engaging in terrible at risk behavior or the teen it being abused or exploited by someone. That same kid cannot carry her own epipen or inhaler in school without written parent permission, nor can she take her own tylenol at school, yet her parents must jumo through hoops to access her medical info?

This is stupidity at its worst.

+1

It's great that you think parents should know, but if that prevents a kid from actually getting medical help, then all the "shoulds" in the world are pointless. Additionally, a lot of this is due to sexual abuse which is often perpetrated by relatives. This isn't a perfect system, and I hope that there is some adjustment as technology increases and time passes, but for those most at risk it's a good thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm missing something here. Could your underage child also opt for any kind of procedure they wanted using your insurance without your knowledge. Setting aside hot button issues like abortion, could your child opt for eg, braces even though this might not be something within your budget?

The ultimate burn!

[Anonymous]

I am amazed at how shortsighted so many posters on here are. these laws exist for a reason. Just because your family doesn't think it needs them doesn't mean they are bad laws.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If I was 13 and I had an std I wouldn't want my parents to know. Great idea now kids can get treated without their parents knowing,

If a young teen (still a child) is having sex that results in an std or worse, their parents should know, because either the kid is engaging in terrible at risk behavior or the teen it being abused or exploited by someone. That same kid cannot carry her own epipen or inhaler in school without written parent permission, nor can she take her own tylenol at school, yet her parents must jumo through hoops to access her medical info?

This is stupidity at its worst.

While I understand that in most families, it is safe for the parents to access the children's medical records, there are many, many families where that isn't the case. There are many families where if the parents found out their children were having sex, they would disown them or throw them out of the house. Even for some that wouldn't their behavior towards their children makes the children think this might happen. In those families, children get exposed to STDs, or get pregnant and the children do drastic things to avoid telling their parents. Some will ignore the issue, not get medical help and end up seriously ill and in some cases infertile when they could have been treated early and had no issues. There are girls that have tried to get illegal dangerous abortions to avoid the possibility of their parents finding out and then had some major health crisis (or died). So, the laws are to protect the children with irresponsible, violent or unreasonable parents and unfortunately it inconveniences the normal parents.

The idea is to create some accessible way for children to get medical help without their parents knowledge to ensure that they actually DO get help instead of ignoring a health issue or worse, doing something illegal and dangerous just to avoid letting their parents know. Parents can still contact the doctors in other ways, but the electronic path was deemed to be the most accessible and easiest for kids to get the medical help they needed without their parents' knowledge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm missing something here. Could your underage child also opt for any kind of procedure they wanted using your insurance without your knowledge. Setting aside hot button issues like abortion, could your child opt for eg, braces even though this might not be something within your budget?

The ultimate burn!

I'm going to say no because they wouldn't be able to pay. I'm not even sure how a 13 year old would pay a copay? Once I was 17+ I really didn't like my mom going through all my blood work, seeing test results and not allowing me on blood work. When I was 21 it was ridiculous, but I was still on their insurance, so their rules.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm missing something here. Could your underage child also opt for any kind of procedure they wanted using your insurance without your knowledge. Setting aside hot button issues like abortion, could your child opt for eg, braces even though this might not be something within your budget?

The ultimate burn!

I'm going to say no because they wouldn't be able to pay. I'm not even sure how a 13 year old would pay a copay? Once I was 17+ I really didn't like my mom going through all my blood work, seeing test results and not allowing me on blood work. When I was 21 it was ridiculous, but I was still on their insurance, so their rules.

Can you imagine how this would go down? "Fuck you mom, I'm going to...[thinks, red-faced]...going to get braces and there's nothing you can't stop me!"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If I was 13 and I had an std I wouldn't want my parents to know. Great idea now kids can get treated without their parents knowing,

If a young teen (still a child) is having sex that results in an std or worse, their parents should know, because either the kid is engaging in terrible at risk behavior or the teen it being abused or exploited by someone. That same kid cannot carry her own epipen or inhaler in school without written parent permission, nor can she take her own tylenol at school, yet her parents must jumo through hoops to access her medical info?

This is stupidity at its worst.

+1

+2 As a parent, we are responsible in every way for a 13 yr old. I have to pay for all the medical bills, but I can't see what I am paying for? Most of the insurance statements have an itemized bill, so I would see what procedure the child had anyways, and I'm assuming the 13 yr old is not paying for their own Rx, so I don't see why we can't see our kid's medical history. Plus, if there was a medical emergency, as a parent, I'd want to be fully informed of my kid's medical history so I could provide the best information possible to the Drs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am amazed at how shortsighted so many posters on here are. these laws exist for a reason. Just because your family doesn't think it needs them doesn't mean they are bad laws.

Do you think parents, who pay the premiums and co-pays, have any say or have a right to access records of their minor children?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Isn't a kid actually a teenager at 13, not a tween?

Do you expect a 13 year old to contact the doctor and request a refill for Adderall? Just using that as an example of how a parent is restricted from directly contacting the pediatrician through an online portal.

Adderall's a controlled substance--legally I'm pretty sure your doctor has to see you in person every 90 days. My Dr always writes for three month's worth of meds-- he puts 'fill after 30/60 days' on two of the prescriptions and one to fill immediately.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am amazed at how shortsighted so many posters on here are. these laws exist for a reason. Just because your family doesn't think it needs them doesn't mean they are bad laws.

These are terrible laws because the kids that need this type of protection are the exception and not the norm. If there were a waiver that could be applied for by the.physician to seal the records from the parent for the kids who need this protection it would be different, but we have the reverse here. If there is a situation that requires this kind of protection of the chikd from the parent then a cps call should also be a part of the waiver.

We are removing parents from the parenting process and that is completely wrong.

[Anonymous]

Good point, PP. In an emergency, how is the parent going to be able to give an accurate medical history?