patient portal and minors in florida

by Mr. Jamil Zieme II 8 min read

Florida Health Connect Patient Portal | Florida …

13 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


Researchers at The University of Florida Health found that giving teens access to their own patient portals – and not their guardians – was not only critical for open patient-provider communication, but was just as productive as parent control of the tool.

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

What is the Florida Health Connect patient portal?

LOG IN. You must "Create an Account" in order to get Tested, to schedule your Vaccination Appointment or to schedule your Monoclonal Antibody Treatment. Once you have created your account, you still need to schedule your vaccination appointment and complete the medical screening questionnaire by clicking "GET VACCINATED" on the homepage of your ...

Can a patient portal be used for a parent?

Apr 03, 2022 · — When any minor age 13 years or older experiences an emotional crisis to such degree that he or she perceives the need for professional assistance, he or she shall have the right to request, consent to, and receive mental health diagnostic and evaluative services provided by a licensed mental health professional, as defined by Florida Statutes, or in a mental health …

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

Nov 29, 2016 · This guide provides examples and overviews of patient portal considerations for minors as it relates to Meaningful Use, HIPAA. state consent laws and associated policies. The articles and presentations included for download and linked to from related websites currently include examples from the following national and state guidelines: National-level Minors' …

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What is the patient portal Florida?

Florida Health Connect is a patient portal that is free to everyone receiving services at any local county health department. The portal allows you to more actively engage with your care team at a time that works best for you.Nov 1, 2019

Does Florida have MyChart?

MyUFHealth SmartPhone App – MyChart Mobile Your health is important to you 24 hours a day, not just during clinic hours. The University of Florida Health offers MyUFHealth to encourage you to take an even greater role in your health care.

What information can be accessed through a patient portal?

The features of patient portals may vary, but typically you can securely view and print portions of your medical record, including recent doctor visits, discharge summaries, medications, immunizations, allergies, and most lab results anytime and from anywhere you have Web access.

What are the cons of a patient portal?

Con: Difficult patient buy-in The most frequently reported downside to patient portals is the difficulty providers often face in generating patient buy-in. Although providers are generally aware of the health perks of using a patient portal, patients are seldom as excited about the portal as they are.Feb 17, 2016

What app does Orlando Health use?

Orlando Health endorses use of EASE because we believe effective communication between the healthcare team and family members is a key component to providing the best possible patient care and experience.

What is my Orlando Health chart?

Orlando Health MyChart is a new digital way for you to communicate with your doctor and with Orlando Health. You can access the application on your computer or mobile device.

Why do patients not use patient portals?

For some people, they avoid using the portals altogether for reasons like security issues, low health literacy, or lack of internet. Even for those who do access their accounts, there are still other disadvantages of patient portals.Nov 11, 2021

What is the advantage of a patient portal for the patient?

The Benefits of a Patient Portal You can access all of your personal health information from all of your providers in one place. If you have a team of providers, or see specialists regularly, they can all post results and reminders in a portal. Providers can see what other treatments and advice you are getting.Aug 13, 2020

What is the purpose of patient portal?

A patient portal is a secure online website that gives patients convenient, 24-hour access to personal health information from anywhere with an Internet connection. Using a secure username and password, patients can view health information such as: Recent doctor visits.Sep 29, 2017

Can patient portals be hacked?

Health outcomes improve. Unfortunately, what makes your patient portal valuable for patients is exactly what makes it attractive to cybercriminals. It's a one-stop shop for entire health records, and identity thieves can make a fast buck from stealing this data and selling it on.

Are patient portals effective?

Results of patient engagement were mixed: portals in some studies did not cause statistically significant improvement, but patients in other studies reported that portals enabled better engagement in their care.

Do patients have access to EMR?

Starting in April 2021, the United States' government will require health organizations to share medical records with patients electronically, free of charge. Once the mandate goes into effect, patients will be able to see doctors' notes and other information in their electronic medical record.Nov 18, 2020

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.

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 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.

Can minors have their parent's information?

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.

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.

What is the Institute's portal?

The Institute's portal, unlike some, allows users to customize proxy access by age and content, which was key to achieving goals and complying with the organization's policies. This article describes the process used to develop and implement access policies for adolescents.

What is the minimum age to access a patient's health records?

The Institute's minimum age for access is consistent with this policy. Nationwide, age cut-off for minors' consent ranges from age 10 to 16, according to state laws and practice policies. Limitations on parental access. The Institute's portal allows a third party, such as a parent, spouse, or caretaker, to view a patient's health records ...

Do minors have to consent to health care?

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.

Can adolescents trust the Institute?

Adolescents will not trust the Institute to provide reproductive or mental health services unless they know that their care is confidential. Initially, the small group of administrators and clinicians that comprise the Institute's portal team decided there should be no exceptions to this age-related limitation.

Who must provide proof of legal custody of an adolescent?

Parents or guardians must provide proof of legal custody of the adolescent. If the Institute is notified that an adult's legal rights have changed, it can verify that information and terminate that individual's proxy access to the adolescent's medical record.

Does the Institute have a complaint about access to child records?

To date, the Institute staff has not received any complaints from parents or guardians about restricted access to the records of children age 10 or older , nor has the staff had any complaints from adolescents about confidentiality concerns related to portal access.

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.

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.

Can guardians adopt a patient portal?

Despite proven benefits of the patient portal, guardians can be slow to adopt. In a July 2016 study, researchers introduced a patient portal to over 9,000 families with a child managing asthma. Of those participants, only 237, or 2.59 percent, actually adopted it. Among those who did adopt the portal, the researchers saw increases in asthma ...

Do parents have to request proxy access?

Per HIPAA privacy regulations, parents and legal guardians must request proxy access. However, the details of proxy and personal representative access may vary by state. Additionally, the defining characteristics of guardianship may vary by state, HIPAA rules say. Because healthcare organizations must verify that an individual is in fact ...

Can a guardian see a patient's messages?

Guardians may no longer see some or all secure messages between the patient and the provider, some appointments (although HIPAA rules state that some health services still require guardian consent until the age of 18), and medication lists.

Is it important for teens to have access to their own portals?

Researchers at The University of Florida Health found that giving teens access to their own patient portals – and not their guardians – was not only critical for open patient-provider communication, but was just as productive as parent control of the tool.

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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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