Communicating With Us About Your Student’s Health
The privacy of health care information/medical records for university students that are maintained by University Health Services (UHS) is protected by a federal law, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and several state laws. The protections of FERPA and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which also protects the privacy of personal health information, are very similar. In compliance with these laws, as a general policy, we do not disclose information to family members or others without the consent of the student. However, in an emergency situation, our professional staff will exercise professional judgment to determine if family members, usually parents, should be informed of the situation even if the student withholds consent.
If you want information about non-emergency health care situations, it is best to work through your student, asking them to give us permission to speak with you about their health concern. And, while we need their written consent to formally release medical records, usually a phone call from the student can grant permission for our staff to speak with you.
We are often asked if the student can sign a “blanket” release of information form and our answer is no. In health care matters, such prospective (advance) releases are not legally defensible and can be revoked by the student at any time.
UHS clinicians do talk to parents frequently (with the student’s permission) and they like to have parent involvement in the student’s care when it is appropriate. UHS clinicians work closely with students and their parents when a student experiences a significant, but not life threatening, illness or injury. They encourage students to allow them to contact their parents in these cases. However, if the student declines, the clinician legally must respect the student’s decision.
