We understand that sending your adult child off to college is a hectic time, full of planning and preparation. In the midst of this preparation, it’s also an important time for parents to safeguard their child in the event of an emergency.

Parents of college students face particular challenges when a medical emergency arises. When it comes to health care, college students 18 years of age are legal adults, even if parents are paying their tuition and otherwise still responsible for them.

Because of the federal health care privacy law called HIPAA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), hospitals have been known to refuse to give parents any information about their child who was admitted for a medical emergency. This, naturally, leaves parents frantic.

College students can erase this obstacle by completing a legal form called a “HIPAA release”. This document permits hospitals and medical professionals to talk with the student’s parents. A HIPAA release can mean the difference between knowing what is happening with your college student in a medical emergency and being completely shut out.

College students also need an Advance Medical Directive and a Durable Medical Power of Attorney. This document outlines your child’s desires regarding treatments your child would (or would not) want to receive in the hospital if your child was unable to make these decisions, and states who should make your child’s medical decisions if your child is unable to do so.

Understanding the challenges that parents face is part of our job as we plan for your family. We work with families to ensure that they have the protections they need for their children, young or old. To meet this need we provide special back-to-school planning for families with college students.