What paperwork do I need?

[Melinda S in TX]

What paperwork do I need to be able to talk with 18dd doctors? I need to be able to talk with the doctors, get her test results, act on her behalf, discuss bills, etc. She is not unconscious or crazy, but she has a seizure disorder and needs help.

 

What paperwork do I need and where do I get it?

[J-rap]

I don't have the final answer on this, so others' advice will be good too! My first thought is that there are two things you can do:

 

Our clinic always asks us if we would like to allow other people to have access to records, discussions, etc. regarding a family member. Your daughter ought to be able to sign a form allowing the people she designates on her form to have access to all of her medical records at that facility, be able to participate in discussions, etc.

 

The second thing is that your daughter could get a Power of Attorney, giving you and your husband authority to represent her in private affairs.

 

Sometimes hospitals provide generic Power of Attorney forms that your daughter could use. There are also on-line forms that you can get, and you can pay extra to have an attorney put it together for you (either online or in person). You can put it together yourself too. There are probably specific formats you can copy online. I don't think you need to have an attorney put it together for you, but I'd have it notarized.

[Parrothead]

Medical power of attorney.

[QueenCat]

She would need to sign a medical power of attorney for you to actually act (make the decisions) on her behalf. For the rest of it, our son's doctors just

have him sign a form that states they can discuss things with us.

[LMV]

If you want to continue to have access to protected health information then she needs to sign a release that allows you this access. At least here many physicians include this release as part of their privacy practices packet.

 

Medical Powers of Attorney vary from state to state (and in some states they are called something else---NY has Health Care Proxies which are essentially state specific MPOAs) but generally the health care agent is only allowed access to protected health information when the patient has been determined unable to make their own medical decisions. The patient must have decision making capacity at the time that the MPOA/HCP is executed. If the patient is unable to make their own medical decisions and hasn't designated a health care agent then state laws will determine how the surrogate decision maker is determined (usually next of kin but how this is defined varies from state to state).

 

Medical guardianship and or durable power of attorney are other options and may actually be most appropriate if your feeling is that your daughter doesn't have decision making capacity now and will not for an extended period of time. State laws again vary on the requirements and process for this.

[zoobie]

If your daughter doesn't want you involved or is not competent, you will need to hire an attorney.

 

If she is competent and she consents, she can sign a release at the doctor's office allowing them to discuss her care with you. As far as billing goes, your health insurance will have a release form as well for her to sign.

 

If it goes beyond merely discussing her treatment and into making decisions on her behalf, you would need a medical power of attorney. She would need to consent or be declared incompetent.