Do parents have the right to know?

[Cromm]

I don't know how things work in the US, or if it's different from state to state... honestly I'm not really sure how it works here in Canada.

Okay, so my question is more of a legal than medical one, but well, here goes:


Do parents of minor children have the legal right to demand to know everything that child's doctor knows about their child?


I'm not talking moral rights or the ethical obligations of medical professionals, I mean the law. Do they have the right according to the law?


Although I would like to know all real laws, as well as your opinion; I'm especially interested in links to government of ontario websites or ontario universitys with this information; as it pertains rather importantly to a friend of mine.

Thanks. :)

[INFERNO]

I'm in Canada also so hopefully I can give a decent answer. The parents have a legal right to demand BUT the doctor only needs to say what is medically relevant. For example, suppose a minor child is gay but the parents don't know and the doctor does. If it's not medically relevant then the doctor has no need to disclose that information.

If there's an issue over whether the child has done drugs then they probably will tell the parents as it likely is medically relevant.

If there's an issue over whether the child has some psychological disorder, then I'm not sure on this but I would think they would have to.

If there is an issue over self-harm or harm of others, then if the doctor is fairly certain on it then they should tell the parents. They may recommend seeing another doctor and that's probably when it will get disclosed to the parents.

[Requin]

Yea, I would assume as the child is only a minor then the parents have a right to know, well anything i would assume. Especially if the child is young, how would they understand?

[ShatteredWings]

Yes, but also a child (i think here it's over the age of 13) also has the right to know exactly what medical treatment they're getting.

And yes. Medically relevent. Your doctor doesn't have to tell your parents if your sexualy active (unless you think you have an STD or have symtoms of/could be pregnant) or gay, or whatever if it's irrelevant

[peaceloverugby]

I think in some states it has to be a life threatening illness (cancer)/public health risk (STD), especially if the minor request that the information be withheld. Or maybe I'm just watching too much "ER" :P

[INFERNO]

I think in some states it has to be a life threatening illness (cancer)/public health risk (STD), especially if the minor request that the information be withheld. Or maybe I'm just watching too much "ER" :P

If the patient is a minor and asks for the information to be withheld, then I'm not sure how the law works for that. I would assume that the doctor is then bound by doctor-patient confidentiality, unless it would involve harming someone else or oneself.

However, if the parent pays for the medical bill, then I don't know how reasonable it would be for the parent to be forced to pay for the treatment even though they cant be told what the treatment and such is.

[Aves]

I don't think so, but not entirely sure.