Thursday, April 16, 2009

Protecting Your College-Age Child

Preparing for College can be Hard

With you child’s college acceptance now in hand, you can turn your attention to preparing your 18 year old for this new and exciting stage of life.

You will have a lot to plan for as you prepare to send your “baby” off to school this fall.  Making sure that they have the right bedding, dorm supplies and meal plan is all part of that planning.  

Once you’ve gotten through the checklists and dropped them off (with some tears and lots of good advice), the only thing you’ll have left to do is worry.  You’ll worry whether your freshman is eating enough, studying enough, and getting enough sleep. While we can’t help with these everyday concerns, we can help with one of the big ones:  How will you know if something happens to your son or daughter while away at school?  

In most cases, unless your 18 year old has created the appropriate legal documents, (i.e. HIPAA release, Health Care Power of Attorney) you might not know.  HIPAA, the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, was created to help protect patient privacy; but it can mean that you, as the parent of an “adult child,” may not be able to get information about your child in a medical emergency.  This is why your child needs a HIPAA release before leaving home.

KRASA LAW can create the HIPAA release and Healthcare Power of Attorney your child needs. Coupled with a DocuBank I.C.E. (In Case of Emergency) wallet card, you can rest easier knowing that these important documents will be quickly accessible to hospital staff in an emergency – 24/7/365.

The I.C.E. service also sends you an alert, should your child’s card be used to retrieve their emergency information, containing the phone number of the facility requesting the information so you can immediately call to follow up.  And, since the hospital will have the HIPAA release form before you call, there should be no obstacle to you receiving the information you need.

To find out more about, HIPAA and DocuBank I.C.E., or to schedule an appointment, please call us (831-621-7375 or 877-402-2719).  Let us help you with one less thing to worry about!