School wants us to sign a crazy medical release form..

[Andtototoo]

No way would I sign #3. I'm not giving that kind of info to anyone.

It's a privacy issue to me. You or the doctor your child would see, or if heaven forbid, the hospital would file insurance.
Besides, if an accident happened at school and there were legal problems, it would be your insurance vs the school's insurance. Their lawyers don't need anymore information than your lawyer would be willing to share with them or that the courts would decide they need.

Honestly, that was one of my first thoughts -- was that you are given them open access which would put you at an extreme disadvantage legally. You're an open book, but they are not. So they can easily build a defense that uses your own info against you.

 

[luvmy3]

That is because you are a good mom. I'm a Peds NP, and used to be a boarding school nurse. So probably a different situation, because the staff I worked with had to be the "parent". When a kid came to me - a lot of the time it was routine, but at least two or three times a week I had to send kids to the hospital, and several times a year I had to make decisions that at times were life and death. I had kids literally crash on me. I ran a service full clinic at the school I worked with. It was stressful.

Several times, I had children who had major medical problems show up to the school without medicines. The parents did not tell the school in advance that the the children had chronic health issues - like diabetes. Further, several times, I had children show up where their parents had failed to disclose their condition because they were afraid we would reject the child's application to our school. We took medically complex children. But they would just sent them on a hope and a prayer - and the kid would literally crash after they had been there a week or so. This did not just happen to one kid, but several.

And it would be my job to dig through their paperwork and see that mom or dad didn't disclose. This would happen as I was trying to get records for a kid that was sick, getting sicker, or for a kid who was at an ER or who was admitted to a hospital.

And then it would be my job to get their records from where they used to live. I used a form that gave me permission to get whatever records I needed - educational, healthcare - anything. Because these were teenagers, they were usually able to tell me what clinics they had gone to recently. I started there. If the kid didn't know, I would call the parents / family and I would usually get that information - if they weren't forthcoming, the staff would usually talk to them and discuss sending that kid back home when they were stable. Usually they were concerned and they would start to tell me the information, though.

Then I would get everything faxed to me, and then I would somehow piece together a recent medical record. Then, I could paw through that and figure out what in the world I could do with this kid; what their previous routine meds were supposed to be, and what I needed to do. I found all kinds of things that as a boarding school nurse, that I HAD to know. And the dorm staff who took care of the kids and gave them their medicines? They needed to know too.

The population I work with is disadvantaged and tends to get disjointed care in the first place, so getting a good history is very hard.

I think that the people in this thread are being very hard on school nurses in general. I have been there and if you are a real school nurse (and I'm not talking the secretary who has been trained to put a band-aid on someone) and if you are really having to treat a kid - you need real information sometimes. And it stinks not to have it - especially if parents are not forthcoming. The people on the dis are generally middle class, involved parents. Not every parent is forthcoming about their child's medical history... and sometimes in healthcare, nurses have to track down records and try to treat a kid without hurting them. Who knows what sort of school nursing is going on in the OP's school - but if it was a full service clinic like the type of clinic I ran, previous records are VERY, very important.

OK, off my soap box!!

Boarding school is a bit different from public school though, but as I said there shouldn't be an issue dealing with students on an as needed basis, just like you seemed to do when you had to.

 

[kamik86]

Boarding school is a bit different from public school though, but as I said there shouldn't be an issue dealing with students on an as needed basis, just like you seemed to do when you had to.

I agree with ^ for a boarding school I could see needing much more information as the school would need to give medicines, help the kids get refills if they need more during the school year, make sure they dont' forget etc. Also because your having to make decisions and follow up with the ER until the child's parents can get there, and if this is like a boarding school where my mom worked the parents could be in another country and may not even speak English well enough to talk to the doctors.

However for a normal public school we are talking about a child that is at school a maximum of what 8 hours a day (and that is assuming some sort of after school activity) So your not going to be trying to piece together a medical history because before you got half way through that the parents would be reachable as they would be expecting the child home for the night.

 

[Pigeon]

I've read through the whole thread and am still trying to figure out why giving them our insurance information is a bad idea?
We have a subscriber number, and that is it. The company uses that number for everything. No policy number, nothing else. Just that subscriber number. I don't see the harm in the school having that.


... I also wouldn't sign. But I have a son with a thick medical file and a few conditions. One of which involved an impossible decision for me that very likely could have been the wrong one. I don't need to worry that I'm being judged for choosing what I thought was best for my child. My other child is perfectly healthy and I wouldn't sign for him either, but mostly because I think it would look strange to sign for one child and not another.

Medical insurance fraud and identity theft are a very big deal. I wouldn't hand over any information about my medical insurance to anyone who didn't have an extremely compelling reason to have it. Scammers are generally pretty clever. Why give them a starting point?

I see no benefit to give the school a subscriber number. If you can't use the insurance without the policy number, what good is having the school having a subscriber number in the first place?

 

[Lionqueen2]

While I would question the need for the forms that the school wanted you to sign, I completely understand the nurse being thorough about your son's health regarding his returning to school. The school nurse is responsibile for protecting all the children in the school from any illness that may be contagious. Certainly, if the situation were reversed and it was someone else's child who may have a contagious illness, you would want the nurse doing her job in order to protect your child.

 

[sam_gordon]

While I would question the need for the forms that the school wanted you to sign, I completely understand the nurse being thorough about your son's health regarding his returning to school. The school nurse is responsibile for protecting all the children in the school from any illness that may be contagious. Certainly, if the situation were reversed and it was someone else's child who may have a contagious illness, you would want the nurse doing her job in order to protect your child.

But didn't the OP have the signed note from the doctor saying the child is ok to return? Do we want school nurses to second guess doctors?

 

[tiggger1]

But didn't the OP have the signed note from the doctor saying the child is ok to return? Do we want school nurses to second guess doctors?

yes, I had a signed doctors note from the hospital's pediatrician on Hospital letterhead. It stated that DS had been hospitalized from x/x/2012-x/x/2012 for an illness. He is cleared to return to school and all activities on Monday x/x/2012. If you have any questions please contact Dr X at (xxx)xxx-xxxx ex xxx

When I handed her the note she wanted to know how he was doing and asked if he needed to take medicine at school. I told her no, that he just needed to take it 3 times a days for 7 days. she asked what he was taking. I told her that i did not know because my husband filled the script. she then asked it if was X because the first topical medicine he was on was mainly for impetigo and that if he had impetigo and cellulitus, then he probably had MRSA and if it was she needed to know. I told her it was not MRSA, it was just a regular infection and it was gone before we were discharged. that is when she said I was probably confused by the medical terminology. I told her if I was positive it was not mrsa and she if she had any other concerns to call the number on the note. that was the last I have heard from her.

 

[Betsy82]

Medical insurance fraud and identity theft are a very big deal. I wouldn't hand over any information about my medical insurance to anyone who didn't have an extremely compelling reason to have it. Scammers are generally pretty clever. Why give them a starting point?

I see no benefit to give the school a subscriber number. If you can't use the insurance without the policy number, what good is having the school having a subscriber number in the first place?

I know that fraud is huge, but I monitor our EOBs like crazy. Our insurance company frequently makes mistakes and with the thousands of dollars in expenses we have I watch them. Very closely. Just last week I noticed they didn't pay my mammogram correctly, called them and they said "you're right, we'll fix it" & the new EOB has already reached me. If something happened, I'd notice it. But that is just me, I guess. I doubt I'd be so vigilant if it weren't for my sons conditions (it's generally his specialists that get billed/paid wonky).

And I'm confused by the last part. We have no policy number. Nothing but the subscriber number. So you CAN use our insurance without a policy number.

But they also mail me letters if something seems strange to them. To confirm an accident, or whatever.



I guess I get why they don't really need it. The hospital or whoever my child is taken to will certainly figure out how to bill us!

 

[Pin Wizard]

Two and three would be a problem for me. I'd be on the phone with school admin. And I probably wouldn't sign.