I’m in Kansas and have been knee deep in this very topic for multiple reasons (consent for procedures and ROI education). In Kansas, DCF contracts with an agency and they take over the duties as guardian. It can get confusing for the Foster Parent because they do have a form that allows them to take the child to clinic visits and discuss health care issues as well as an emergency treatment form for ED visits (which is unnecessary since we have an obligation to treat and stabilize anyone who presents to the ED anyway), but they cannot sign procedure/surgical consents nor can they sign authorizations for ROI. If records are needed, usually the Case Manager will request them. It is possible for the Case Manager to sign an authorization to release the records to the foster parent, but I have never seen this happen nor have I seen them make a foster parent a DPOA or legal guardian for the child, because it’s counterproductive to their purpose as the guardian.
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Korianne Kaleikini
Hims Manager
Lawrence Memorial Hospital
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Original Message:
Sent: 09-15-2015
From: David M Kozar, RHIA,CHPS,MPA
Subject: Foster Parents
I am curious to know how other facilities handle requests for medical records from foster parents. Do you release records to foster parents when there is documentation on file from a state agency that allows them to provide consent to treatment? We ask the Missouri Children's Division to provide authorization or obtain it from the biological parents, but many foster parents believe they should be able to authorize records to be released. Would really appreciate your thoughts on this!
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David Kozar, MPA, RHIA
HIM Release of Information Supervisor
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