As a pediatrician, am I required to give my notice of privacy practices to the children I treat?

Answer:

The HIPAA Privacy Rule requires a covered health care provider with a direct treatment relationship with the individual to provide the notice to the individual receiving treatment no later than the date of first service delivery. In cases where the individual has a personal representative, as is generally the case when a parent brings a child in for treatment, the provider satisfies the notice distribution requirements by providing the notice to the personal representative (e.g., the child’s parent), and making a good faith effort to obtain the personal representative’s acknowledgment of the notice.

In the limited cases where the parent is not the personal representative of the unemancipated minor, such as when the minor is authorized under State law to consent to the treatment and does so, the provider must give its notice to the minor and make a good faith effort to obtain the minor's acknowledgment of the notice. See 45 CFR 164.502, links to an external website(g)(3) and 164.520, links to an external website(c)(2).

Date Created: 12/20/2002