Can you help your family in a medical emergency?
The new school year is rolling around, and there’s lots of things to do!
This is especially true if you’re bidding adieu to a recent high school graduate. Adulthood is incredibly exciting, and it’s an important milestone for more reasons than one…
Did you know:
Once your child or grandchild turns 18, their medical providers can’t talk to you about their health? In the eyes of the law, you’re a stranger! That is… unless you sign two important documents!
Part of being an adult means having responsibility for one’s own medical decisions, but many parents and children don’t want to be completely cut off. As far as the law goes, parents can’t be involved in their children’s medical care unless their child has given consent. That consent can be verbal, but what happens if your child is unconscious or otherwise compromised? Maybe they need surgery or emergency medical treatments? You’d be completely out of luck.
But you and your child care about having family there when things go wrong, so what can you do?
Download free Medical Power of Attorney and HIPAA Release forms from any reputable source for the state where your adult child or grandchild lives/goes to school. These sources are free, generally at state .gov sites.
Make copies of these forms for everyone, including the health center at school. Store them on your phones, too, so they’re always at your fingertips.
Then... let’s hope and pray you never need them!