massachusetts minor patient portal access

by Violet Berge 9 min read

Patient Gateway - Massachusetts General Hospital

22 hours ago Massachusetts health and hospital law manual , MCLE, loose-leaf, chapter 11, Access to medical records. Generally, parents or guardians of minors have the right to the same access to their child or ward's medical records as their own. >> Go To The Portal


When to grant patient portal access solely to minors?

Healthcare providers that do not have that ability to segregate sensitive data may need to grant a patient portal access solely to minors at age 13 so the parent cannot see their information. In the interview, Greene also discusses: The struggles healthcare providers will have with balancing strong authentication with easy access;

How can health care providers give parents access to minor medical records?

Healthcare providers can choose to give parents access to the minor's records via a patient portal, but the providers should consider segregating certain information to make those confidential services inaccessible by the parent, Greene says.

Who has access to medical records in Ma?

Massachusetts health and hospital law manual , MCLE, loose-leaf, chapter 11, Access to medical records. Generally, parents or guardians of minors have the right to the same access to their child or ward's medical records as their own.

Can a patient portal be used for a parent?

Some healthcare providers, for example, might provide parents with access to the patient portal, but may be able to segregate certain information that is not accessible to the patient portal for that patient population, so that you know the parent is not going to be able to see certain services.

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Can a parent have access to their child's medical record?

Children and young people who are able to make their own informed decisions have a legal right to access their own records, and can allow or prevent access by others, including their parents. Any parental access to a child's records must be in the child's best interests.

Can a minor be seen by a doctor without a parent in Massachusetts?

While the age of consent for all medical treatment in Massachusetts is generally 18, those younger than 18 may consent to a wide range of services—even without parental authorization—depending on the circumstances.

Can minors go to therapy without parental consent Massachusetts?

According to the “mature minor” rule1, it is legal to connect and refer a patient to counseling services without his mother's consent. Under Massachusetts law, a minor may consent to confidential outpatient counseling and treatment for emotional or psychiatric problems.

What is FollowMyHealth portal?

FollowMyHealth is an online tool that gives you anywhere, anytime access to your personal health records. This allows you to take a proactive role in managing your care. Many healthcare providers and physicians use FollowMyHealth as their main engagement platform.

Can a minor be seen by a doctor without a parent?

By law, any child under the age of 18 years old cannot be seen by a doctor without consent from a parent or legal guardian.

What is a Section 12 in Massachusetts?

What is a Section 12? In Massachusetts, Section 12 of Chapter 123 of the Massachusetts General Laws controls the admission of an individual to a general or psychiatric hospital for psychiatric evaluation and, potentially, treatment.

Can a child refuse life saving treatment?

Treatment refusals: Minors frequently refuse treatment, but where the treatment is life sustaining, the decision may be challenged either on the basis that it is not competent or because, though competent, the law allows the decision to be overruled: Competence: Under 16 year olds are assumed not to be competent.

When married parents disagree on medical treatment?

So a problem arises if your ex isn't complying or is constantly disagreeing with your medical decisions. If this is the case, you can seek relief from the court under the grounds that you and your co-parent are not capable of making joint decisions, and you cannot both exercise legal custody of your child.

What is consent in medical law?

Consent to treatment means a person must give permission before they receive any type of medical treatment, test or examination. This must be done on the basis of an explanation by a clinician.

Is FollowMyHealth the same as MyChart?

Reviewers felt that MyChart meets the needs of their business better than FollowMyHealth. When comparing quality of ongoing product support, reviewers felt that MyChart is the preferred option. For feature updates and roadmaps, our reviewers preferred the direction of MyChart over FollowMyHealth.

How do I use FollowMyHealth?

0:093:00FollowMyHealth Patient Portal Walk-Through - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipClick on the button in the top right corner that says add apps. Moving over to the top right side ofMoreClick on the button in the top right corner that says add apps. Moving over to the top right side of the screen you'll see appointments. This is where you can view upcoming or past appointments.

How do I get rid of FollowMyHealth?

To delete your account, click “My Account” in the upper right-hand corner of your FollowMyHealth homepage. Then, click on “Preferences.” Then, click “Delete your UHR” under “Account Preferences.” The system will prompt you to confirm once more. If you so choose, click “Yes,” and your account will no longer be active.

What app does Massachusetts General Hospital use?

Using the Apple Health App. iPhone® users receiving care at Massachusetts General Hospital and all other Mass General Brigham entities can now use the Apple Health app to access and visualize key parts of their current health records, including allergies, conditions, immunizations, labs, medications, procedures and vitals.

How to schedule an appointment with Patient Gateway?

How to schedule an appointment through Patient Gateway: Log in to Patient Gateway. Click the “Appointments” tab, then select “Schedule an Appointment”. Follow the prompts to select an appointment time that works best for you. Once you’ve completed all the prompts, your appointment will be scheduled.

How to make an appointment with a patient?

How to schedule an appointment through Patient Gateway: 1 Log in to Patient Gateway 2 Click the “Appointments” tab, then select “Schedule an Appointment” 3 Follow the prompts to select an appointment time that works best for you. Once you’ve completed all the prompts, your appointment will be scheduled

Can you access your health information from a non-Mass General Brigham?

Access your health information from a non-Mass General Brigham institution if they are using the same electronic health record vendor (known as Epic)

Is Patient Gateway available on iPhone?

Patient Gateway is also accessible via our app for iPhone or Android.

What chapter is Child Welfare Practice in Massachusetts?

Child welfare practice in Massachusetts, MCLE, loose-leaf, chapter 21 : Medical and mental health treatment for children in DSS custody

What is the MCLE law in Massachusetts?

Generally, parents or guardians of minors have the right to the same access to their child or ward's medical records as their own.

What is the age limit for consent to abortion?

MGL c.112, § 12R Consent to abortion for women less than 16 years old

What age do you have to be to get behavioral health in Massachusetts?

Massachusetts must provide "behavioral health screening, diagnostic evaluation, and an array of new behavioral health services to children up to age 21 who have MassHealth.". Explains services available and how to access them.

What is the name of the program that combines Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance into one?

MassHealth. In Massachusetts, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) are combined into one program called MassHealth.

Do psychiatrists have to give consent to minors?

A child's health care providers have a duty to obtain informed consent for treatment of the patient, which involves discussing treatment decisions with parents or guardians. But a "psychiatrist treating a minor child does not have an obligation also to treat the child's parents, or other family.

Information for MassHealth Applicants

Find information about applying for MassHealth, the Health Safety Net, and the Children's Medical Security Plan.

Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) and MassHealth

Find resources and information related to the coronavirus for MassHealth applicants, members, and providers.

Information for MassHealth Members

MassHealth may provide health and dental coverage for individuals, families, and people with disabilities. Click on a MassHealth type to learn more about applying, enrolling, and other services.

MassHealth Health Plans

MassHealth members have access to a range of health care services, resources, and benefits. Learn what health plan options are available or find a provider or hospital here.

MassHealth Initiatives

Learn about MassHealth’s ongoing efforts to transform the delivery of health care in Massachusetts, as well as the many programs and initiatives designed to improve access to high quality care.

MassHealth Provider Information

Information for health care providers about becoming a MassHealth provider and access to online services for existing MassHealth providers.

MassHealth Publications

Access regulations (both current and proposed), forms, and other important MassHealth and EOHHS publications using the links below.

What is a patient portal?

ADAM GREENE: Patient portals usually refer to some way for a patient to be able to view some portion of the electronic health records ... of a healthcare provider. ... You can have significant variation with respect to how much information is in the patient portal itself. It could be clinical notes; it could be a much smaller subset of information. This is different than certain other things such as, a personal health record, which is where a patient can keep their own information electronically for their benefit. You could have situations, for example, where someone wants to access their information through an EHR portal of one particular healthcare provider, and then take that along with information from a number of other providers and put it into a single personal health record.

Why does a healthcare provider sign up for a password?

The healthcare provider signs them up, creates an account, and assigns a password because they know the individual; they've checked the driver's license or some other proof of identification of the individual. The alternative can be remote authentication, where you first do identity-proofing remotely.

Can a minor have their parent's information?

GREENE: This is a very tough situation. You're going to have, under the law, some minors who have their parent or guardian as their personal representative under HIPAA who has the right to access their information. But, minors may be able to consent to certain services, such as reproductive health services, or substance abuse treatment. For those services, the parent or guardian does not necessarily have a right to see the information. In fact, when a 17-year-old comes in for certain reproductive health services, or her state [allows] that without any sort of parental consent, it could be a HIPAA violation to actually disclose the occurrence of such services to the parent. So what you're going to be left with is three different sorts of age groups; you are going to have 18-year-olds and over, who are full individuals and their parents should not have any rights to their information. You have the lower age group, which might be [age] 12 and under. This can vary based on state law, [minors who] will not be able to consent to any healthcare services on their own, and so the parents should have access to all of their information. You probably want the parent having full rights with respect to that patient population. But then, you're going to have this challenging in-between, which, depending on state, could be [age] 13 up until the 18th birthday, where parents have a right to see most of the information but not some.

Is it a HIPAA violation to disclose medical information to parents?

Because some minors have the right not to disclose certain medical information, such as reproductive health services, to their parents, it could be a HIPAA violation to disclose the services to the parent, says Greene, a partner at the law firm Davis Wright Tremaine.

Can a parent access a minor's medical records?

Healthcare providers can choose to give parents access to the minor's records via a patient portal, but the providers should consider segregating certain information to make those confidential services inaccessible by the parent, Greene says.

Is there a regulation that requires a patient to have a copy of their medical records?

The other major regulation is HIPAA, in that there has been a longstanding obligation to provide patients with a copy of their medical and billing records, or certain other information in what is referred to as a "designated record set.".

Is a patient portal a secure email?

So for example, the patient portal may also be a messaging portal where a secure e-mail is received by an individual. They receive an unsecure e-mail that just says they've got a message waiting for you at the patient portal. They log in [to portal] and see their information that way.

Does a minor have the right to access PHI?

Susan, my understanding is the minor has the right of access since it's their PHI. I'm not familiar with how portals really work, so I can't answer what type of information goes to the portal or how/who controls what PHI an individual can access by their portal.

Is the medical system smart enough to separate out which tests the child has a right to consent to?

However, the system is not smart enough to separate out which tests the child has a right to consent to and which ones the parent consented to and only give the parent the results of the tests to which the parent consented. All tests are pushed to the portal. (this is a problem even in the paper/electronic world of medical records. When you give a copy of the child's record to the parent, how to ensure the treatment the child has a right to consent to is not included?)

Can a parent access a child's portal without permission?

We are implementing a process by which the parent has to give the child the right to have their own portal, understanding the parent cannot access the child's portal without the child's written permission. (the parent would be set up as a proxy on the child's portal. We could get a signed "proxy" form from the child)

What is the patient portal?

The Patient Portal is an easy way to access all of the information related to your child's care at Shriners Children's. When you log in to the portal, you will have access to:

What to do if you have not received your Shriners patient portal password?

If you have not received your username and password for the Shriners Patient Portal, please contact your child's care manager at the location responsible for your child's care. They will be able to provide you with the login information.

How to get a copy of my child's medical record?

To do this, just log in to their portal and review the Request for Medical Record Release form for instructions on how to submit your request.

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