<p>Wow. It never before occurred to me that it would be necessary to get a power of attorney for my son while he is away at school so that I would be able to have access to his medical information. I'm still not sure how this would work. Anybody out there with knowledge in this area? It would be appreciated.</p>
<p>I'm not sure why this is a surprise...he's 18, it's his information, he gets to be in control of it (including who sees it).</p>
<p>I'll bet I'm not the only parent out there who didn't think of this!</p>
<p>Welcome to the world of HIPPA!</p>
<p>POA is one way of getting access. It is a bit of overkill, in that it gives you treatment authorization as well. </p>
<p>I believe you can have the student sign a blanket release for the local hospital/clinic that will also allow the hospital to share information (without the decision making authority) with you. Of course, kids in their infinite wisdom, don't want Mom and Dad to know what they are being treated for! Yikes!</p>
<p>oh, I knew about this. When D was a senior in high school and turned 18, she didn't need me to sign for anything anymore; in fact, I could no longer sign for her anymore. So I figured this carried on to college. </p>
<p>However, my experience has been that if your student gives verbal authorization to health care workers for you to have information, that will work, too. I've spoken with student health center nurses after they called my daughter and asked for her permission to speak with me. </p>
<p>I've thought about the health care power of attorney, but in a true emergency, your child will be treated whether or not you have access to their medical information in order to make any decisions. I was chaperoning a high school show choir competition out of state last winter when a 15-year old boy broke his foot. 'Someone' (our choir director) had overlooked bringing the medical release forms along, so the hospital staff had to call the kids dad to get permission to treat him (the kid's 17-year old brother was also on the trip with us, and went to the hospital with us). It took over an hour to get a hold of him, but in the meantime, they proceded to treat him. But verbal authorization from the student usually works, even when they're over 18.</p>
<p>For me, where I get beyond annoyed is when I'm trying to put the puzzle pieces together for a claim, so I know how much I need to pay the provider, and I call the insurance company, and they won't talk to me because my kids are over 18. Who do they think is paying for their insurance and making their co-pays? The last thing my kids want to do is talk to some insurance person about payment for treatment.</p>
<p>Another one, for those who haven't faced this... we had been contributing toward an education savings account for our kids for quite a while - they were in their names. But when I wanted to redeem the funds and called to discuss it, they wouldn't talk to me since the kids were over 18. It aggravated me to no end that I couldn't make changes to the accounts (whether it was changing the contribution amount or monthly withdrawl dates) even though the monthly withdrawls were coming from my account. So for these occasions, I'd have to call the institution, put my kid on the phone and let the person know that it was OK for them to speak with me. Not so easy to do when they're at college far away, so I have to make sure any transactions I need to do are taken care of when they're at home.</p>
<p>This is also why, for my 21 year old, we still have both hers and my name on her traditional checking/savings bank account... so I can make any transactions that need to be made on her behalf.</p>
<p>I'm sorry ... pet peeve of mine. It's HIPAA, not HIPPA. It stands for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. And you don't need a Power of Attorney to access the info, just authorization from your adult child.</p>
<p>My bad, blackeyedsusan. You got my typo!</p>
<p>son's school had a waiver form to sign. several, in fact. one to release health info, one from the registrar to release grade info, etc.</p>
<p>POA sounds like overkill to me. How does your child feel about this? He's 18--his medical information should be kept private for him to share or withhold in whatever way he thinks is appropriate. </p>
<p>There are very few cases when your son wouldn't be able to tell you medical information himself if he wants to or wouldn't be able to give verbal permission to share it with you, and in those cases you'll probably get the info anyway. Many parents on this board have suggested that students add ICE--In Case of Emergency--numbers in their phones in case of a serious accident or illness. Then you'll at least know that your son is ill. If he doesn't do that or the hospital doesn't check, your son's friends, roommates, RA, or dean will likely contact you.</p>
<p>Before my S went off to college this year, my accountant had strongly suggested that we get a durable POA just to cover any situation that might arise because of all the privacy acts. I haven't done it yet, but I am thinking it would be a good idea. S would have no problem with that.</p>
<p>...had an article several months back regarding HIPAA. Many health care providers/hospitals are erring on the side of too much caution about giving out information. Just relax, the kid should let you know what is going on, and their MD should be happy to have someone able to give a good medical history in case of an emergency,which in turn would help the treatment of your S/D. If its something the young person DOESN'T want you to know about, well, they are just protecting you and their relationship with you.( I nearly had a cow when I discovered condoms in my kids room while putting away clothes, but then realized that they actually had been listening to me during all those safe sex lectures.) So don't worry about Power of attorney, the hospitals will be happy to have you, and your wallet, there.</p>
<p>Has anybody ever considered just asking their child? I figured if he doesn't want me to know, then it's none of my business. If your relationship with your child requires a POA in order to get information, then you have more problems than finding out why he went to a doctor, his grades, or how much tuition is due. I survived three kids away for four years each without ever logging into any of their accounts. If I want to know something, I ask.</p>
<p>I signed a release at my private practitioner allowing my parents to access my medical info, but feel/felt no need to do the same at my university.</p>
<p>In fact, as a policy, my university doesn't send health/grade/registration information to parents. That's the way it should be.</p>
<p>I give my parents access at home so that if i need someone else to call and make an appointment for me, or to check on test results that I'd forget to call about, it can be done for me. I don't need my mom to get a note that I was given Zithromax for a sore throat in case it was strep on Nov 12th. Who cares?</p>
<p>I think I may have given a wrong impression, so let me clarify. The only reason I am concerned is that I want to be able to help, should the need arise. My son wants me to have the ability to speak on his behalf, that's all.</p>
<p>In our case, S has a pre-existing condition that could, in fact, become life-threatening at any time, so we HAD to have an "authorization to release info" with the insurance co. - also H is a physician, so it makes it even more imperative to know what's going on. S doesn't have a problem with it.</p>
<p>Yeah, I mean, I do it as a convenience at my general practitioner, but being on campus I find I'm able to take care of it myself. OF course, I understand scenarios, like NYUMom's exist, I'm just saying as a general thing I wouldn't worry about it.</p>
<p>This question just makes me wonder about what will happen after college. Will you (not directed at anyone) still have this power when your son/daughter is out of college? In their 30s? </p>
<p>There are worst case scenarios for everything, and they're always unusual. Sometimes you just have to live with it and hope for the best.</p>
<p>If you are paying for your adult child's medical insurance it is wise to have an information release form signed by him or her. If you have ever have to resolve insurance issues you will often find that hospitals/providers will not speak with you even if you are responsible for the bill, even if your adult child is listed as a dependent on your policy. </p>
<p>I don't think this is an issue of overprotective parents but rather an issue with HIPAA laws (who knew acronyms could be the source of a pet peeve! Anyway thanks for letting us know the proper letters - I actually was wondering.)</p>
<p>On my ever longer list of things to do, is having my Ds and S fill out release of info forms for each other with our insurance company. In event of emergency, they're my closest family, and I for them. The insurance issues with outside providers have also been a reason for needing that information. I've dealt with emergency surgery for my S and you don't want access to information denied when you're stressed and need to know for very practical reasons. As far as away at college health center information, I could care less, as anything that is of great import will be hospital based, and will deal with that in another way. Health center issues the kids can tell me about, and have. My Ds school sends our financial release forms for all three of us to sign, her dad, D and me. So we can all have access to her bills and any financial issues.</p>
<p>When trying to make a dental cleaning appt for my S who was on exchange, I was told by the office that I couldn't, as he was over 18. Luckily they relented when I said he was in Ecuador, but I again wished for a lightening bolt to strike HIPAA dead. It obstructs flow of information, and the paper wasted....the office hours wasted on explanations of HIPAA, the hours wasted as I rifle through charts and computers with family members on hold, making sure I have permission to give out info. (I work in a hospital)</p>
<p>I'd far prefer to hold back information by exception, as we take it quite seriously when someone does not want information given out to a particular person or organization, or is on 'privacy status' and we give out no information to anyone, and don't even put phone calls through. </p>
<p>Because I see 'worst case scenarios' all the time, have lived a few of them, I like to be prepared, and then I can relax and try to keep perspectives upbeat. Corranged, don't take this as a criticism, as I think you're generally wonderful and full of insight. But over years...you see more of the bad stuff in life, and the necessity to be prepared for those glitches in the road. When and if my kids are in committed relationships, then health info rights should be transferred to a partner.</p>
<p>Great Lakes Mom - hallelujah.</p>
<p>Prior to HIPAA, we were very careful with patient info, we still are, but now we also spend hours chasing our tails over privacy issues that only obstruct patient care.</p>
<p>I also think that parents should have formal medical POA - if you get into an accident, and you are vegetative or brain dead, medical personnel will turn to your parents until you have a legally recognized partner, it is much easier to make it formal. Also, you as an adult, should have that conversation about organ donation, and personal wishes about futility of care. This is not about Z-paks for sore throats, or even treatment of STDs, this is about what happens to an incapacitated person, and how do you handle health insurance.</p>