A Minor’s Right to Confidentiality Essay

In disdainful of 1996 congress passed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) patients began to see an expediency in the access and consistency of the wellness insurance cover eld. It was non until April 14, 2003 that the solitude portion was passed guard in the flesh(predicate) wellness teaching. Many states master(prenominal)tain item-by-item fair plays that were already in place to protect the wellness information of patients. HIPAA was not intended to eliminate the state law but to cover that which was not apostrophizeed by state laws. The state law leave behind put up providing it is more than stringent than the HIPAA policy. In general, the passing of the HIPAA gave patients additional information and great access to in the flesh(predicate) medical information while protecting that selfsame(prenominal) information from inappropriate disclosure. Some of the protected information that has raised controversial concerns is regarding a nes tlings right to privacy and p argonntal access. nestlings Rights versus P arental RightsHIPAA rules regulate the authorized several(prenominal)s that profoundly can feel a mortals private health information. HIPAA recognizes parents and guardians as soulfulnessal representatives, which permits authorization and access as appropriate with the regulations. The guidelines provide that person that has legal authority over some other adult or emancipated minor shall be considered the personal representative and afforded such(prenominal) authority as relevant to the law. The second part addresses unemancipated minors and parents or guardians, shall be regarded as personal representation and give the appropriate authority for decisions regarding a patients PHI (Mary Beth Kirven & Daniel J. Hall, 2003). in that location are exceptions as with any rules and those exceptions are as follows1. The minor consents to such health tutorship service no other consent to such health care serv ice is required by law, regardless of whether the consent of another person has also been obtained and the minor has not requested that such person be treated as the personal representative. 2. The minor may licitly obtain such health care service without the consent of a parent, guardian or other person acting in haywire parentis, and the minor, a court, or another person authorized by law consents to such health care service. 3. A parent, guardian, or other person acting in loco parentis assents to an agreement of confidentiality between a cover health care provider and the minor with respect to such health care service (Mary Beth Kirven & Daniel J. Hall, 2003).These exceptions provide for a minor, the ability to keep lonesome(prenominal)(prenominal) specific health information as confidential from any individual which the minor chooses. In the state of Michigan, this information is protected only if for intercession of maternal quality, HIV or venereal disease and substance a buse (FindLaw, 2011). Benefits could be made by adding contraception to the protected information in the HIPAA policy as well in an effort to protect minors that trail in states that have no laws or earth policy that address such issues. Teens have a right to conceal medical information only regarding pregnancy or infection of a hinge onually ancestral disease or actively addicted to drugs, which will then endure the privilege of privacy. This teaches teenagers that poor decision making will be rewarded with the opportunity to make more decisions.Promiscuous Adolescent BehaviorSince the early 1970s adolescent internal activity has been in the public eye, the actual tell of activity had not changed, it only become more obvious. The average age of marriage was increasing along with the estimated liveliness expectancy. The population was simply postponement longer to get married but not waiting to have sex. The media have placed these topics to the front of this nation with t he various stories that seem to glamorise both sex and teen pregnancy. The United States is a nation that has sex everywhere, most entertainment media and many marketing tools use sexuality to take out the consumer and sell the products.Society needs education and accessibility to counter ratio the exposure that is forced upon them from marketers in an effort to keep the sexual means to a minimum and to have the ability to see beyond the sexual nature of the actual products uses and its benefits. Speculation is that the awareness created through these controversial television system series (Teen Mom, 16 and significant) has contributed to the decrease in teen pregnancy. According to Womens Health and Health Care Reform, The United States continues to have the highest teen pregnancy rate of developed countries (Chavkin, Rosenbaum, Jones & Rosenfield, 2010). The alternative is that adolescents may feel more cozy with the ability to obtain appropriate supplies and education, bot h of which have become more accessible because of state and federal laws.Legal EntanglementsUnfortunately, a recent seek was made by Indiana Republican Representative Mike Pence, crack an amendment to eliminate the Title X program. This Pence Bill is an attempt to prevent programs such as Planned birth from obtaining federal bloods for any earth (Miller, LaVaute & heritage Media, 2011). The primary focus of this amendment was the use of pro-life tax-payers money to fund and promote abortion. A debate over this is still ongoing straight off at the national level, yet here locally there are still health clinics providing the necessary services to many adolescents, including prenatal care when compulsory (Miller, LaVaute & Heritage Media, 2011). The controversy over the abortion service is the main factor in the attempt to remove the funding. According to Planned Parenthood, abortions that are performed in its clinics make up less than 3 percent of its services. There were 332 ,278 abortion procedures performed in 2009. There were also 830,000 breast exams, and nearly 4 million were tested and/or treated for sexually transmitted diseases (Miller, LaVaute & Heritage Media, 2011).Public PolicyPublic policy is the only protections that adolescents have to face on. It will allow protection from both diseases and unsuitable pregnancy, and this is limited to only specific minors in the State of Michigan. HIPAA does not pre-empt this policy as it is more stringent in some states than the HIPAA law, this is one limitation to the policy. An except in the Guttmacher Institute composition on public policy indicates, Although the public remains ambivalent, professional organizations familiar with the scientific evidence uniformly concur the provision of reproductive health care to minors on a confidential basis. Public policy developments at the state and federal level, however, kindle that teenagers access to confidential services will remain under flack in t he months and years to come (2005).ConclusionHistory has proven that children will continue to have sex and contract disease and become pregnant therefore laws protecting the privacy of reproductive health can real diminish the barriers and increase access to protection for many patients. Planned Parenthood has played an intricate role in providing access to education and protection for millions of adolescents. Removing the funding for programs such as this also reduces access to education, treatment and supplies, resulting in increased diseases and increases in unwanted pregnancies that subsequently lead to a higher(prenominal) poverty rate. Ideally abstinence is the preferred method to prevent unwanted pregnancy and disease, however, reality shows that this is generally not the practiced method. Protection for adolescents is needed in all societies to promote responsibility and growth for every individual. It is a mature and responsible decision to pursue the protection and educa tion that is needed even when access is limited. Laws are passed to protect mankind, not adults or parents or any one population laws are created to protect any person that needs protecting, including minors.ReferencesChavkin, W., Rosenbaum, S., Jones, J., & Rosenfield, A. (2010). Womens health and health care reform The tell role of comprehensive reproductive health care. Retrieved fromhttp//www.mailmanschool.org/facultypubs/womenshealthcarereform.pdf FindLaw. (2011). Michigan medical records law. Retrieved from http//law.findlaw.com/state-laws/minors-and-the-law/ international mile/, http//law.findlaw.com/state-laws/minors-and-the-law/michigan/ Guttmacher Institute. (2005, November). Teenagers access to confidential reproductive health services The Guttmacher report on public policy. Retrieved from http//www.guttmacher.org/pubs/tgr/08/4/gr080406.html Mary Beth Kirven, E., & Daniel J. Hall. (2003, June). Health insurance portability and righteousness act of 1996 Applicability to the courts an initial assessment. Retrieved from http//www.ncsconline.org/WC/Publications/CS_PriPubHIPPA96Pub.pdf Miller, J., LaVaute, G., & Heritage Media. (2011, March). Washtenaw county Young and pregnant Part 1 Prevention. Retrieved from http//www.heritage.com/articles/2011/03/01/life/doc4d6d5ec57105e610360187.txt?viewmode=fullstory