Click Introduces My-Child My-Chart Act

COLUMBUS – State Representative Gary Click (R-Vickery) recently introduced legislation to ensure Ohio’s parents and legal guardians have complete digital access to their children’s medical records to the fullest extent allowable under Ohio and federal HIPAA law.

HB 463, the My-Child My-Chart Act, will require health care providers and online record hosting services to ensure that parents have digital access to all non-protected records pertaining to their children.

“Concerned parents have informed me that they have been unable to view their children’s online medical records without permission from the child,” said Click. “I think that’s wrong.”

Federal HIPAA law protects children’s medical records for care which the child consented to rather than their parent. Though these protected records are uncommon, most digital hosting services like MyChart do not differentiate records according to who consented. Since protected and non-protected records are grouped together, the result is that most providers default to requiring permission from the child before a parent can be granted proxy access.

The My-Child My-Chart Act will equip parents with greater medical transparency by requiring hosting services to segregate HIPAA-protected records until permission is given, meaning parents will no longer need their child’s consent to digitally access their non-protected files.

The bill further requires healthcare providers to provide an opportunity at each annual wellness visit for children to consent to share protected records. This consent would remain in effect until the child reaches the age of majority or until revoked in writing.