Parents of 12 Yr. Old need child's permission to Access Medical Records??? (teenage, pills)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I think we need to be clear about something. The doctor/patient confidentiality is between a doctor and a patient. That has been fully recognized for a long time. The dispute here is about whether there should be a law that enables parents to force a doctor to violate this privilege. There can only be such a law if Big Brother makes one. So if Big Brother is getting involved here, it is the parents who want Big Brother to intercede on their behalf, and create a law that forces a doctor to betray doctor/patient privilege. There is no doctor/bill-payer or doctor/guardian confidentiality. It is between the doctor and the patient. Until Big Brother sticks his nose into it.
There is also lawyer/client privilege. If a child goes to family court to file a complaint against the parents, should the parents also have a right in that case to force the child's legal counsel to disclose privileged information to the defendant parents?
Should the parents have a legel right to demand that a priest reveal to them what their child confessed to?
I think we need to be clear about something. The doctor/patient confidentiality is between a doctor and a patient. That has been fully recognized for a long time. The dispute here is about whether there should be a law that enables parents to force a doctor to violate this privilege. There can only be such a law if Big Brother makes one. So if Big Brother is getting involved here, it is the parents who want Big Brother to intercede on their behalf, and create a law that forces a doctor to betray doctor/patient privilege. There is no doctor/bill-payer or doctor/guardian confidentiality. It is between the doctor and the patient. Until Big Brother sticks his nose into it.
There is also lawyer/client privilege. If a child goes to family court to file a complaint against the parents, should the parents also have a right in that case to force the child's legal counsel to disclose privileged information to the defendant parents?
Should the parents have a legel right to demand that a priest reveal to them what their child confessed to?
There is a big difference between a secret and medical treatment. According to this law if a 12 year old has cancer the parents have no right to authorize any treatment since they are not allowed to see the medical records. In what world does that make sense. So are the doctors supposed to tell a 12 year old that he/she may die instead of discussing it with the parents alone. If I were a doctor I would refuse to see an under age patient without the parent present. I would be too worried about lawsuits if something happens.
I thought these laws were passed under the supposed need of confidentiality of a child needed to confide about physical or sexual abuse within the family. Considering this probably only represents a small percentage of tweens and young teens it feels like a knee-jerk reaction....but I doubt there will be too much we can do as parents to change it.
Personally, I have never found anything more annoying than trying to raise teenagers without any real say so in their personal choices other than being financially responsible for the end result. I know there are kids out there with bad families, but the majority of the kids out there have parents who truly love and want the best for their kids. The government needs to back off and just let us be parents.
No law is applicable here. It is left to the discretion of the doctor. In the case of a minor presenting medical facts to her doctor, the doctor is obliged to regard those facts as confidentiality-sensitive, and disclose them only if in his opinion the life and/or health of the patient outweighs the ethics of the doctor/patient relationship. If the parents believe that harm has been done by the doctor's decision, the civil courts are available to redress any damages that result.
Unless and until Big Brother enacts laws that deny the freedom of the doctor to use his discretion.
The one Big Brother exception is that if the patient discloses to the doctor an intent to assassinate the president of mail anthrax to somebody, the USA Patriot Act steps in as Big Brother and compels the doctor, or his nurse, or the receptionist, of the overnight cleaning lady to disclose that information to the "proper authorities"---in other words, to Big Brother. The whole purpose of all those Privacy Act notices is to warn you that all that privacy you always took for granted isn't there anymore, it is subject to the Patriot Act exclusions.
I really don't understand the big deal about all of this. Just explain to your kid why you need access to their records and get them to consent. That's what my mom did and I gladly consented. In fact when I had to have back surgery when I was a teen I wanted my mom there with me and even asked the doctor to explain exactly what would be done to her. It was comforting to know that my mother knew everything about the surgery and thought it was for the best. I tend to agree with jtur88 when he/she said that if you couldn't get your kid to give you permission there is an obvious breakdown of communication between parent and child. Just my 2 cents.
Kaye
Last edited by Kaye02; 01-03-2009 at 02:34 PM..
Reason: grammar mistake
Unless a child's life is in emediate danger, no doctor can touch a child without parental consent. However, exceptions were made for abortions. Funny how a hospital can't even give a child stitches for a small cut without parent or guardian permission but a strip joint abortion clinic can perform a medical proceedure on her without any parent or guardian ever finding out. This sounds like something "Planned Parenthood", funny name for a group that helps to eliminate pregnancies, pushed and lobbied for heavily. Also sounds like jtur88 feels it's the government's job to decide what's best and how to raise our children and our job is simply to provide food, clothing, shelter, and money for whatever the kid needs and wants.
When I had back surgery in my teens my mother did not have to give consent. I was the one signed all the papers and also signed to have my medical information released to my mother. Maybe the laws have changed, or maybe it varies from state to state, I'm not sure. Either way, I am very glad that I had control over my medical needs since, ultimately, the decisions will affect mainly me. While I do think parents should be involved in their kids medical issues, I think the kid should also have some say (unless the child is mentally disabled, that is).
When I had back surgery in my teens my mother did not have to give consent. I was the one signed all the papers and also signed to have my medical information released to my mother. Maybe the laws have changed, or maybe it varies from state to state, I'm not sure. Either way, I am very glad that I had control over my medical needs since, ultimately, the decisions will affect mainly me. While I do think parents should be involved in their kids medical issues, I think the kid should also have some say (unless the child is mentally disabled, that is).
Kaye
How old were you? I do not believe a 12 yo can make the decision to have back surgery. 16 maybe. There are very mature teenagers and there are very immature 20 yo.
Physically they effect you. But emotionally and monetarily it heavily effects your parents. You are signing a contract agreeing to pay for services rendered, among other forms, without any way for you to do so on your own. You're passing monetary responsibility onto your parents without their knowledge or consent if you did so without their prior knowledge and it not being a life threatening injury. They more than likely would have approved for a willingly signed the documents. If they had then THEY would be accepting responsibilty for the medical bills they're about to receive. THEY would also know if the hospital or doctor is on their health plan or may want to get a second opinion from a medical professional they know and trust. THAT'S one of the reasons why it should be the parent or guardian to give approval except for life threatening situations. No matter how much you THINK you know as a teenager, you don't know nearly enough to make an informed decision on such issues.
I think we need to be clear about something. The doctor/patient confidentiality is between a doctor and a patient. That has been fully recognized for a long time. The dispute here is about whether there should be a law that enables parents to force a doctor to violate this privilege.
Well then let the doctor bill the patient and not the patient's parents.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
