Either party can add whomever they wish on the list of Hipaa authorized parties. The father would not have to be added as an authorized parry because he is a parent. He is who authorizes people to be able to be given info regarding the child along with the mother.


Hipaa authorization, in itself, does not allow for the step mother to attend the child’s doctor visits. While the authorization would have to be in place for the step mother to attend the office visits, it is not permission for her to do so.

How old is the child? The child can express their choice the step mother not be in the exam room along with the child. Unless there is some valid basis for the step mother to attend the exam, the doctor should respect the patient’s wishes and send the step mother out of the room.


I don’t agree that a step parent being listed as an authorized party for purposes of Hipaa is improper in most circumstances as the step parent is often in a position where they need to know the medical info of the child. One needs to understand there is a huge difference between being an authorized party on regarding Hipaa and being involved with the treatment of the child. Hipaa deals only with information. It does not allow a party to make any sort of medical decisions for the patient.

Quote Quoting llworking
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Because that should never happen unless both parent's agree? Because that is serious overstepping? Because its piss poor co-parenting on dad's behalf?

Sorry but I believe you’re wrong. A step parent is often called in to be a pseudo parent in many situations. I suppose the step parent isn’t supposed to take the child to school or extracurricular activities unless the mother agrees to allow that too. Sorry but the step parent often is called upon to do many things for the parent with the child at the moment. I have seen parents try to prevent the step parent from having any involvement with a child. The courts felt they were trying to cause problems and told the parent to back off. The parent without the child at the moment doesn’t get to control what happens when the child is with the other parent.