patient portal access for minors

by Prof. Devonte Weber Jr. 5 min read

Patient Portals: Considerations for Minors

4 hours ago Information about services provided to a minor for which the minor has the right to consent to treatment cannot be placed in a portal that can be accessed by a parent or guardian. A portal for a minor may include these services. Other circumstances? Deven McGraw 202-637-9800 x115 deven@cdt.org www.cdt.org/healthprivacy >> Go To The Portal


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;

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.

Full Answer

When to grant patient portal access solely to minors?

Information about services provided to a minor for which the minor has the right to consent to treatment cannot be placed in a portal that can be accessed by a parent or guardian. A portal for a minor may include these services. Other circumstances? Deven McGraw 202-637-9800 x115 deven@cdt.org www.cdt.org/healthprivacy

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

Nov 29, 2016 · HITEQ Center - Minor and Parental Access to Patient Portals. This presentation provides an overview of patient portal considerations for minors as it relates to Meaningful Use and HIPAA. This provides a general overview using California state policy as an example. Note: This article is meant to provide general information and awareness of considerations for …

Can a patient portal be used for a parent?

Under Kansas law, minors have the right to privacy for certain personal health information. Log in information for a My Health Info patient portal account can now be managed directly by a minor. Minors include patients 12+ years of age. Can I allow others to access my information via the Patient Portal? Minors can share access with a parent/

Should a parent have proxy access to a minor’s medical portal?

Nov 29, 2016 · Patient portals, sometimes also referred to as personal health record systems (PHR) are web-based portals commonly attached to electronic health record systems (EHRs). These patient-centered portals provide patients with the ability to login and review health information related to their care. Common patient portal services include ways in which to …

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

A person with parental responsibility will usually be entitled to access the records of a child who is aged 12 or younger. Children aged 13 or older are usually considered to have the capacity to give or refuse consent to parents requesting access to their health records, unless there is a reason to suggest otherwise.

Can I access my daughters medical records?

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.

How do I add a child to the Mayo Clinic portal?

To create this account, the minor and a parent or guardian can call Mayo Clinic Customer Assistance at 1-877-858-0398 weekdays from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Choose option "4" from the phone menu options. Also, note: Both the minor and the parent or guardian must be on the call.Apr 9, 2020

Can parents withhold medical information from their child?

Under some circumstances, respect for patient autonomy can paradoxically support withholding medical information. If a patient expresses a desire not to know all or some medical information, then the physician should respect that decision and withhold that information [21, 22].

Can doctors receptionists access medical records?

Practice staff, for example receptionists, are never told of your confidential consultations. However, they do have access to your records in order to type letters, file and scan incoming hospital letters and for a number of other administrative duties. They are not allowed to access your notes for any other purpose.

What counts as proof of parental responsibility?

Why do you need to show proof of parental responsibility? ... This could be shown in the form of having your name on the child's birth certificate, but it could also be a consent letter that has been signed and dated by the parent of the child.

How do I set up a patient portal Mayo Clinic?

0:244:14Creating a Patient Online Services Account - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipOnline services account when you have your Mayo Clinic number and are connected to the internet.MoreOnline services account when you have your Mayo Clinic number and are connected to the internet. Select the create account button to begin you'll see this screen.

What is Mayo Clinic portal?

Patient Online Services is a secure portal that lets you: View your medical record including test results. Schedule an appointment. Communicate with your provider.

What is a Mayo portal?

Mayo Clinic Health System's Patient Online Services is a free, secure and convenient online resource that connects you to your health care team and helps you manage your health from the comfort of your home. ...Aug 27, 2015

Can family members request withholding of information from patient?

If a family member requests that certain information (for example, prognostic information in the case of a stroke, other neurologic insult, or malignancy) be withheld from a patient, the physician should ask the patient if he or she would prefer to be told everything or would prefer his or her family to filter ...

Are doctors allowed to withhold information from patients?

Except in emergency situations in which a patient is incapable of making an informed decision, withholding information without the patient's knowledge or consent is ethically unacceptable. ... Physicians should always communicate sensitively and respectfully with patients.

Does patient have right to know their diagnosis?

Similarly, when a particular investigation is advised by a doctor or a hospital, the patient and his caregiver have the right to obtain this investigation from any registered diagnostic centre/laboratory having qualified personnel and accredited by National Accreditation Board for Laboratories (NABL).Sep 7, 2018

What is meaningful use stage 2?

In particular, meaningful use Stage 2 is pushing for healthcare providers to provide more immediate access, particularly the ability to view, download, and transmit information through what is normally expected to be some sort of patient portal.

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.

Why is proxy access important?

Proxy access is at the core of portal adoption because it legally allows guardians to access and manage a child’s patient portal. Gaining proxy access, something a guardian can usually do in the doctor’s office or through extensive online verification, is critical for pediatric patient portals until the child begins managing it on her own. ...

When do pediatric portals become more complicated?

As cumbersome as guardian authentication and proxy access may be, patient portals become even more complicated when patients reach adolescence. At this point, most pediatric providers begin to shift portal management to the child and retract some guardian privileges.

When do pediatric hospitals shift patient portal control?

Although most pediatric hospitals and clinics shift patient portal control from parents to patients once a child reaches adolescence, providers still have a responsibility to encourage open communication between both parties.

Why are patient portals important?

Patient portals in pediatrics raise several privacy issues, especially as patients age into adolescence and young adulthood. Patient portals are an important regulatory requirement, with industry professionals touting their ability to better engage the patient and help all participating parties manage patient health.

Consent laws and portal policies

Under most state and federal laws, for a minor to obtain health care services, the minor's parent or legal guardian must consent to such services. However, under certain circumstances, state laws and HIPAA permit minors to consent to care on their own.

Results

Since implementation, 1,534 adolescent patients have activated a portal account. Not counting patients who have since transitioned to adult accounts or otherwise left the system, the Institute currently has more than 500 adolescent users. Of these users, 223 have logged in more than five times in the past 12 months.

What are the different types of parents?

Laws recognize several categories of parent. These include: 1 Legal guardian 2 Married biological parents 3 Separated or divorced biological parents 4 Step parents 5 Adoptive parents 6 Foster parents 7 Grandparents (children living with grandparents who are not legal guardians) 8 Other, such as a parent in the service or overseas who has transferred guardianship to a relative or friend with whom the child is temporarily living

What is a secure portal?

Many organizations are investing in a variety of secure-access Web portals, such as portals that give providers access to patient records and employee portals that allow staff the opportunity to work remotely. Patient portals offer consumers the ability to e-mail securely with physicians, complete registration forms prior to appointments, and access their health records.

What rights do minors have?

In many states, minors have privacy rights specific to sexual reproduction, sexually transmitted diseases, and mental health and substance abuse treatment. These rights require a signed authorization by the patient before information can be released to a parent.

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The Role of Patient Portals

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MARIANNE MCGEE:What are patient portals? What sorts of organizations are launching them, and why are they important from a regulatory standpoint? 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 c
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Privacy Challenges with Patient Portals

  • MCGEE: What do you think are the biggest privacyand security challenges related to patient portals? GREENE: I think one of them is authentication. How do you know that the patient is who the patient really says he or she is? There are a number of different strategies for trying to tackle that. Another privacy and security challenge here is that you have an Internet-facing website, ess…
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Authentication For Portal Use

  • MCGEE:What are the various ways that individuals can be credentialed and authenticated for accessing patient portals? GREENE:There are two stages here; the initial identity-proofing and the subsequent authentication every time someone logs into the patient portal. The identity-proofing normally happens either in-person or online. The in-person part could happen as part of the regis…
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Why only Passwords?

  • MCGEE:Why do you think most organizations that have a patient portals will go with the username and password only? GREENE:Difficulty and lack of demand. I think there is going to be a minority of patients who may want the more robust features of multi-factor authentication, and may want to feel confident that their information is not going to be accessible to others based on just the …
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Minors' EHRs

  • MCGEE:What are the privacy and security challenges involved with providing access to health records of minors via the patient portals? 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 a…
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Adult Caregivers

  • MCGEE:What are the privacy and security challenges involved with giving access to elderly patients' information to say, an adult children? GREENE: I think it's a great idea. I think you definitely want to give the tools so that the patient does not have to share their username and password, but instead could have a greater level of control by creating a delegate account wher…
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Other Methods of Access

  • MCGEE:How do patient portals compare with other methods of providing patients with access to their health information, such as secure e-mail? GREENE:I think it is much easier to use. It will also link in sometimes with these other practices. 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 …
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Biggest Emerging Threats

  • MCGEE:What do you think the biggest emerging privacy and security threats for portals? GREENE:I think as you get more of these, there will be more stories of vulnerabilities that have been identified. If the individual changes the URL by one number, and they are able to see someone else's information, I think we'll see security challenges on that front. I think we're going to see a c…
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