HB2126

THE CONTEXT: As outlined in the parents' bill of rights, all parental rights are exclusively reserved to a parent or a minor child without obstruction or interference from this state, any political subdivision, any other governmental entity or other institution. This includes: 1) the right to make all health care decisions for the minor child, including the right to not consent to the immunization of their child, the right to consent to mental health treatment or screening for their child and the right to consent to surgical procedures for their child; and 2) the right to request, access and review all written and electro...

WHAT THE BILL DID: of consenting thereto, consent for said emergency attention may be given by any person standing in loco parentis to said minor; and 4) any minor who is at least 12 years old who is found, upon diagnosis of a licensed physician or registered nurse practitioner to be under the influence of a dangerous drug or narcotic (which includes withdrawal symptoms), may be considered an emergency case and the minor is considered as having consented to hospital or medical care needed for treatment for that condition (A. R.

WHY IT MATTERED: The practical reason for this bill was to turn the Legislature's standard for medical records into an enforceable rule. It would require a health care entity to give a parent access to any electronic portal and any other health care delivery platform that is separate but equal to the minor child's access throughout the minority of the parent's child, while maintaining any confidentiality that is owed to the minor child pursuant to law or court order, and would also specifies that a parent's right to request, access and review all written and electronic medical records of the minor child includes access to written and electronic medical records for services not requiring parental consent, including those in certain emergency circumstances in which the minor is: a) in need of a mental health screening and treatment; b) in need of immediate hospitalization, medical attention or surgery; and c) at least 12 years old and has been diagnosed to be under the influence of a dangerous drug or narcotic and in need of treatment, rather than leave the current rule unchanged.