NEDA TOOLKIT for Parents
Confidentiality issues
Parents of children of legal age or friends of a person
with an eating disorder may want to help navigate
insurance issues and finding treatment facilities, or
participate in treatment, but cannot talk with health
professionals or facilities on a patient’s behalf without
the patient’s permission because of certain regulations
protecting medical privacy. The Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or HIPAA,
protects individuals’ medical records from becoming
public knowledge. HIPAA states that under normal
circumstances, medical records are private and that
anyone with access to them, like healthcare
professionals, healthcare facilities, or insurers, cannot
share that medical information with anyone but the
patient. HIPAA protection also extends to human
resources (HR) departments at employers. If a person
discloses his/her medical condition to HR personnel
when talking about health insurance benefits, HR is
required to maintain confidentiality. If HR divulges
information without permission, the harmed party can
file a civil rights complaint. HIPAA requires companies
to have policies that provide for sanctions against any
HR person who releases confidential medical
information. The Americans with Disabilities Act may
provide recourse for anyone fired from a job because
of a medical condition.
Other documents worth knowing about include a
medical POA, which lets someone make medical
decisions about the patient’s healthcare if the patient
is incapable of making these decisions.
The rules about medical POAs vary by state and it’s
best to consult a lawyer to write one. Advanced
directives are another set of documents that the
patient authorizes for future treatment in case the
patient cannot make decisions at that time. Most
hospitals have forms for patients to fill out to specify
instructions. In most states parents have medical POA over their
children as long as the children are younger than age
18 although the exact regulations depend on the state.
Parents do not have medical or durable POA over
children who are older than age 18, even if the
children are covered under the parents’ health
insurance policy. If a child is in college, is over age 18,
but is still covered by the parents’ insurance, then the
parents and child must go through the usual legal
process to set up POA. This can be a problem if the
child does not want treatment or is at odds with the
parents, which is sometimes the case. Parents have no
legal authority to force a legally adult child into
treatment. If a friend or family member is helping a patient
through the treatment process, the patient can give
oral permission for that person to see the patient’s
records and participate when talking with healthcare
providers or insurers. That person may also make
doctors’ appointments for the patient. A friend or
family member cannot see a patient’s medical files or
transport the files or lab samples if the patient is
absent, even if permission has been given orally.
To grant a friend or family member access to medical
records, the patient must provide a durable power of
attorney (POA) document. This document varies by
state so it’s best to have a lawyer create it. Anyone
with a POA can sign legal documents for the patient
and read or transport medical records in the patient’s
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