HIPAA Authorization Form for Parents
Learn about what a HIPAA Authorization Form for Parents is and why such a form is important when it comes to the medical treatment of your minor child by reading this mini-guide.
Fact Checked by Nate Lacson.
What is a HIPAA Authorization Form for Parents?
Just in case you aren’t aware, healthcare professionals and providers are not at liberty to discuss the health information of their patients with anyone aged eighteen or above because of privacy mandates by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. The only time that they are allowed to do so is if you have a signed HIPAA Authorization Form.
The HIPAA mandates were created to protect patient privacy and secure their health information, especially information that can be used to identify who they are, such as their medical records and billing statements. This means that healthcare professionals and providers can only disclose health information to the patients themselves unless the law requires it or if a certain person possesses an authorization form that grants them access (the patient must sign this).
In the case of minor children, awill ensure that a minor child’s health information will only be shared with the child’s parents or legal guardians. Parents and legal guardians normally have the right to make decisions regarding their minor child’s healthcare as well as the right to access the health information, but this document ensures that they (including others they deem trustworthy) are the only ones who can access their minor child’s health information apart from the healthcare professionals and the law.
Printable HIPAA Authorization Form for Parents
Download this HIPAA Authorization Form for Parents to ensure you maintain compliance.
What would you normally see in a HIPAA Authorization Form for Parents?
The HIPAA Authorization Form is a straightforward legal document. More often than not, you will see the following in such a form:
- Information of Guardians and Child - This part will collect information about the child, specifically their full name, age, and current address. There will also be fields for guardians to write down their full names, current addresses, contact information, and their relationship to the child.
- Oath of Legality - This is an oath that says that the parents or guardians are the legal guardians of the child, and there are no court orders in effect that will prohibit them from conferring the power to consent to another person. The parents must simply write their names here, as the statement has already been written for them.
- Description of Information Usage - This section will state that the parents or guardians of the child understand they have certain rights regarding their child’s health information privacy based on HIPAA mandates, plus indications of what the health information can or will be used for, like sharing the information within a medical team for treatment reasons, insurance, etc.
- Statement of Receiving Notice of Privacy Practices - This section will contain information about the healthcare professional or provider (full name, address, contact number) and a statement that the parents or guardians have been given a Notice of Privacy Practices, plus they have the right to request for updated copies of the Notice of Privacy Practices just in case there are changes. The parents or guardians will indicate their child’s full name, their full names in print, their signatures, and the current date.
- Authorization Statement - This is another section that has been pre-written. It is a statement that the parents or guardians authorize the healthcare professional or provider to disclose their minor child’s health information to them and certain people they indicate.
- Signatures - This is where the parents will write their names and signatures again, plus the current date.
Some forms also come with revokement statements, just in case you want to rescind the access rights from a certain person.
Depending on local laws, you may also need a third party as a witness or a notary to verify the authenticity of the signatures. If you are in a place where this is required, please add it.
HIPAA Authorization Form for Parents Example
Now that you know what HIPAA Authorization Forms are all about, especially the one for parents, we’d like you to know that we at Carepatron have created a general template! It contains the six parts we mentioned, and you have free reign to customize it based on your privacy practices and local laws.
You can use the template as inspiration for when you are making your own authorization form for parents, or you can use it as is and just add what you need based on your privacy practices and your local laws.
Download this HIPAA Authorization Form for Parents Example (Sample) here:
When is it best to use a HIPAA Authorization Form for Parents?
This form is a requirement, so you will need to have this at the ready when you’re about to treat a minor child for something. You have to hand this to the parents, explain your privacy practices to them as well as give them a copy of your Notice of Privacy Practices.
On the part of the minor child’s parents or guardians, it’s best for them to always have a copy of this form around for numerous reasons.
An example of an appropriate time for this form is when routine medical care is provided to a minor child. By having this form, the parents or guardians can access their child’s medical records and other relevant information that will help update them about their child’s overall health.
It can also be used for emergency situations. Let’s say the child is in dire straits because of a disease, and the parents or guardians must rush the child to a different healthcare provider. They can use this form to request the medical information of their minor child from their former healthcare provider and share it with the new team so they are aware of the child’s medical history. If this emergency situation is related to a particular affliction that the minor child had to deal with before, then the new team will be able to quickly determine what to do.
What are the benefits of having a HIPAA Authorization Form for Parents?
Parents or guardians can access their minor child’s health information.
The main benefit of having a HIPAA Authorization Form for Parents is that parents or guardians can access their child’s records whenever they need to access them. With this form, parents and guardians can keep themselves informed about the health of their children, what conditions they are dealing with, what kind of treatment they are being given, and how their recovery process is going.
It can help parents make decisions regarding their child’s treatment.
Speaking of having access to their minor child’s medical information, parents and guardians can become part of the child’s treatment because of this form. Having access to their child’s health information means they can be informed about the kind of medical treatment their child needs based on whatever diagnosis was made. They will also be informed of any risks that certain treatments or procedures have. Parents and guardians can make decisions regarding their child’s health based on the information provided to them.
It can establish the continuity of a child’s treatment.
Remember our example about emergency situations and having to switch or visit another healthcare professional or provider? Well, having a HIPAA Authorization Form for Parents can help establish the continuity of a child’s treatment, even after switching healthcare providers. By obtaining the child’s health information from a previous healthcare provider, parents or guardians can share their child’s information with their new provider so that they know what kind of medical problems the child has and what they are currently being treated for. The information will be used to help them determine what to do to continue the treatment plan that the previous provider implemented.
Commonly asked questions
If the child has a single parent, then the form only requires the signature of that parent. If the child is under joint custody, both parents must sign the form.
Yes. Parents or guardians can choose to revoke the form. They can do so using the same form if it has a revocation clause or through a separate form for revocation. Do note that once it has been revoked, formerly authorized individuals will no longer have access to the child’s medical information.
That depends on the clause on the form. Some forms are only for one-time use. Some are valid until the parents revoke the access rights or the child becomes an adult.
