St. Louis-based BJC HealthCare said it is following state and federal privacy laws after misleading social media claims regarding parental MyChart access, First Alert 4 reported.
A viral post asserted that the health system revokes parents’ access to their children’s medical records once they turn 12, prompting the Missouri Attorney General’s Office to review the situation and a state senator to comment that “this isn’t going to fly in Missouri,” according to the Dec. 5 story.
“BJC’s use of MyChart is governed by federal and state laws that protect patient privacy, including adolescents’ protected health information,” a health system spokesperson told Becker’s.
According to BJC policy, when children turn 12, their parents can still view nonsensitive data and message care teams on MyChart but not see all parts of the medical record online. Kids ages 12 to 17 can also obtain their own patient portal login, but parents can regain full access if the minor and provider sign an authorization form (the minor can later withdraw access). During this time, parents can still request their children’s paper medical records.
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