Hixny has made updates to how medical records for your children are accessed.
If you have children who are under 18 years of age, you should know how the new rules can affect their medical care. You may have already signed a consent form to allow your child’s doctor to view his or her medical records through Hixny.
Until now, the consent you signed ended on your child’s 10th birthday. From the day your son or daughter turned 10 years of age until he or she turned 18, no provider could view your child’s medical data.
That policy has changed. Here is what you should know about the current state of consent and your child’s medical records:
- Under the new rules, when you sign a consent for your minor child, that consent grants his doctor access to his medical records until his 18th birthday. After your child turns 18, he or she can sign their own consent form, so their doctors can continue to access his medical information through Hixny.
- As in the past, you will need to sign a consent form for every healthcare provider who treats your minor son or daughter. Authorized providers, such as emergency room physicians, will still be able to “break the glass” and view your child’s health records in a medical emergency.
- If your child has been treated for substance abuse or mental health issues, medical records for that treatment may not be shared with any healthcare provide, according to guidelines from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) without written consent from the patient. Hixny offers a consent form that includes permission to view SAMHSA data.
- In accordance with HIPPA and New York State law, your parental consent does not allow doctors or other healthcare providers to look at medical records for any treatment your child may have received for “minor consent services.” Those services include alcohol and drug abuse, pregnancy and pregnancy services, sexual assault, family planning, sexually transmitted diseases and outpatient mental health treatment and counseling. Minors can obtain services for these conditions without parental consent.
The new policy means that your child’s doctors and healthcare providers will now be able to see comprehensive healthcare information through Hixny after you have signed the appropriate consent forms. The change helps balance the benefits of sharing your child’s medical records with their physicians, with their legal right to protect their privacy by implementing additional safeguards for access to her records for substance abuse and mental health treatment, as well as records for minor consent services.
