Your Role as a Parent

or Guardian of a Teen
Want to know even more about what
Your
When they were a baby, you had to speak for them.
When they were a young child, you had to schedule
their visits and help them explain how they felt.
But, as a teen, your child is now ready to take on
rights your teen has and how you can
support them?
Ask a health professional or other
clinic staff! Their goal is to keep
Teen’s
Right to
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more responsibility for their health care!
young people safe and healthy.

How you can help:

We’re all in this l
nPrivacy
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1 Set a good example by being responsible with
your own health care. This means going to visits together!

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regularly and asking for what you need.
2 Talk about why it’s important to visit a health
professional each year, even when healthy.

e s in health care settings

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3 Describe what to expect during a visit.

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4 Explain how insurance works. Be ready to
answer questions like: What are deductibles?

A
What are co-pays? How do you know what
is covered? If you are not sure, you can learn For more resources, visit

b
together! Visit www.patchprogram.org. www.patchprogram.org

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5 Respect their privacy. After you’ve stated your
concerns, leave the exam room so your teen PATCH stands for Providers and Teens
can have one-on-one time with the health care Communicating for Health. Our goal is to

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professional at every visit. improve health care experiences
for all young people.
6 And finally, give your teen responsibility:
Allow them to make their own appointments
Encourage them write a list of questions
before each visit
®
Let them fill out paperwork on their own
Have them pick up their prescriptions
Motivate them to speak up for their needs
And, give them space to ask questions when
Please Note: This brochure does not provide clinical information or legal
they don’t understand advice. Laws related to this content may have been added, repealed, or
amended since publication.

Doing these things will help make sure your

teen gets the care they need and deserve!
A Brochure for Parents and Guardians
What are a teen’s
rights to privacy?
Under federal law, health information and medical
records should be kept private.
This is known as confidentiality.
Young people do need your permission (as a parent or
guardian) to receive many health services. But, all young
people—of any age—have the right to:
1 talk privately with health professionals, and
2 access some health services confidentially.
You can help prepare your teen for a long and happy life
by respecting their rights to privacy and encouraging
them to take responsibility for their health care.
“It’s not easy to talk about
personal things, like our bodies and health.
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It can be awkward and embarrassing... but I
know my doctor needs to know this stuff so he
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can give me the best care possible. That’s why
I care about confidentiality! I want to know that
what I share with him won’t be shared
with anyone else.”
- Ruby, age 16
Teens need and deserve a good RELATIONSHIP
with their health care providers.
Why do teens What can parents &
have privacy rights? guardians expect?
Research shows when young people know that As your child gets older, many health professionals
health professionals will keep medical information will begin to ask for time at each visit to talk alone
private, they are more likely to get the health care with them. The health professional should start
they need and deserve. asking you, the parent or guardian, to step out of
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the room around age 11. This one-on-one time may
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Some health topics like mental health, relationships, last a little longer each year as your child gets more
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drugs, sexuality, and safety can be weird to talk about, comfortable and has more to talk about. If you go to
and may be hard to deal with as a teen. visits with your child, the health professional should
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invite you to share your concerns or ask questions at
Health professionals are great resources. They have lots the beginning of the visit. They might also invite you
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of information and can help keep your teen safe and back into the room at the end to talk more.
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healthy. A health professional may be a doctor, nurse, or
other medically trained professional. Anything your child talks about when you are out
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of the room will be kept private, unless the health
c
Having a private visit with a health professional gives professional thinks your teen or someone else is in
young people the chance to: serious danger.
A
1
c
Build a positive relationship with the health
professional and the health care system
You will always become part of the conversation
if the health care professional thinks your teen is
in serious danger.
b
2 Begin to take responsibility for their
own health and well being
3 Talk openly or ask questions about
more personal topics
“Pretty soon we’ll be grown and will
be responsible for our own insurance,
scheduling our own visits, and making big
decisions. We need practice!”
- Jace, 17
Teens have legal health care RIGHTS. Teens have a personal RESPONSIBILITY
to learn to manage their own health care.