The Executive Suite: Maintaining adolescent confidentiality in care

Saturday, October 10, 2020

Maintaining adolescent confidentiality in care

A presentation at the virtual 2020 American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference and Exhibition showed how two health care systems walk the line to protect their adolescent patients’ right to privacy.

Especially for ob/gyns, maintaining patient privacy is crucial. Adolescent patients may be concerned about this, especially if the nature of the visit is especially personal. Will their parents find out about their STD test results?

During the presentation “Mum’s the word: Adolescent consent to care and confidentiality (and EHRs)” at the virtual 2020 American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference & Exhibition, Ryan H. Pasternak, MD, MPH, FAAP, professor of clinical pediatrics at the Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans, and Kirsten B. Hawkins, MD, MPH, FAAP, FSAHM, discussed how the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule affects adolescent confidentiality, the 21st Century CURES act and electronic health records, and how their health systems protected adolescent confidentiality.