RALEIGH A new policy for Atrium Health Cares prescription delivery service CarolinaCARE blocks parental access once a child turns 12.
“Starting November 1, 2023, children ages 12 to 17 will need to create a new account on the CarolinaCARE website in order to view or order their prescription medications, the site said. policy change notice States. Parents will no longer be able to view or manage their child’s prescriptions. If you have a child who will be 12 years old after this date, this change will take place automatically on their 12th birthday.
THE Frequently asked questions The new policy section confirms that upon the child’s 12th birthday, parental access is automatically blocked and parents will no longer see their child’s prescriptions.
Atrium responded in an emailed statement to questions posed by the North State Journal.
“CarolinaCARE is Atrium Health’s home delivery pharmacy that provides prescription services specifically to our teammates and their family members enrolled in our health benefits plan,” the Atrium release said. To ensure compliance with North Carolina General Statutes 90-21.4(b) and 90-21.5(a) relating to medical consent and adolescent privacy rights, we recently informed CarolinaCARE subscribers that Registered minors should create their own digital account.
Atrium’s statement goes on to say that the change concerns prescription medications and reflects what already exists for their medical records, and that allowing unrestricted parental access to medications would contravene legal prohibitions on parental notification in circumstances where the minor requested and consented to their own care.
THE statuses cited by Atrium refer to a provision called “Sufficient Minor Consent for Certain Medical Health Services.”
Under this law, a minor may give effective consent to a physician licensed to practice medicine in North Carolina for medical health services for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of (i) venereal and other diseases. reportable under GS 130A-135, (ii) pregnancy, (iii) abuse of controlled substances or alcohol, and (iv) emotional disturbance.
The law, combined with Atrium’s new policy, could mean that minor children as young as 12 would have access to prescriptions for abortion medications as well as hormone and puberty-blocking drugs without their parents having to know or consent to it.
Because of the citations to the statutes, as worded, Atrium’s new policy does not immediately appear to run counter to recent law enacted by the North Carolina General Assembly; however, based on the wording of the law, it may do so in the future.
House Bill 808 (Session law 2023-111), which blocks gender transition surgeries and the prescription of hormone and puberty blockers to minors, contains an exception for minors who started treatments before August 1, 2023, and these treatments must be active from from August 1, 2023.
Other exceptions to the law include a reasonable medical judgment by a physician that continuation and/or completion of treatment is in the best interest of the minor. Additionally, the minor’s parent or guardian must provide consent for the continuation or completion of the treatment.
Atrium’s policy change does not appear to violate the health and welfare provisions of the new Parents’ Rights Act, as that law leaves intact the laws Atrium cited in its statement.
#Prescription #delivery #service #Atriums #policy #blocks #parental #access #North #State #Newspaper
Image Source : nsjonline.com