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I. How We Work in Washington. Based on your preferences, we provide you with information about one or more of our contracted senior living providers ("Participating Communities") and provide your Senior Living Care Information to Participating Communities. The Participating Communities may contact you directly regarding their services. APFM does not endorse or recommend any provider. It is your sole responsibility to select the appropriate care for yourself or your loved one. We work with both you and the Participating Communities in your search. We do not permit our Advisors to have an ownership interest in Participating Communities.
II. How We Are Paid. We do not charge you any fee – we are paid by the Participating Communities. Some Participating Communities pay us a percentage of the first month's standard rate for the rent and care services you select. We invoice these fees after the senior moves in.
III. When We Tour. APFM tours certain Participating Communities in Washington (typically more in metropolitan areas than in rural areas.) During the 12 month period prior to December 31, 2017, we toured 86.2% of Participating Communities with capacity for 20 or more residents.
IV. No Obligation or Commitment. You have no obligation to use or to continue to use our services. Because you pay no fee to us, you will never need to ask for a refund.
V. Complaints. Please contact our Family Feedback Line at (866) 584-7340 or ConsumerFeedback@aplaceformom.com to report any complaint. Consumers have many avenues to address a dispute with any referral service company, including the right to file a complaint with the Attorney General's office at: Consumer Protection Division, 800 5th Avenue, Ste. 2000, Seattle, 98104 or 800-551-4636.
VI. No Waiver of Your Rights. APFM does not (and may not) require or even ask consumers seeking senior housing or care services in Washington State to sign waivers of liability for losses of personal property or injury or to sign waivers of any rights established under law.I agree that: A.I authorize A Place For Mom ("APFM") to collect certain personal and contact detail information, as well as relevant health care information about me or from me about the senior family member or relative I am assisting ("Senior Living Care Information"). B.APFM may provide information to me electronically. My electronic signature on agreements and documents has the same effect as if I signed them in ink. C.APFM may send all communications to me electronically via e-mail or by access to an APFM web site. D.If I want a paper copy, I can print a copy of the Disclosures or download the Disclosures for my records. E.This E-Sign Acknowledgement and Authorization applies to these Disclosures and all future Disclosures related to APFM's services, unless I revoke my authorization. You may revoke this authorization in writing at any time (except where we have already disclosed information before receiving your revocation.) This authorization will expire after one year. F.You consent to APFM's reaching out to you using a phone system than can auto-dial numbers (we miss rotary phones, too!), but this consent is not required to use our service.
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Mental Illness and privacy laws are tougher today than before. However, there are ways to ask questions which don't break the HIPPA Rules. NAMI, National Alliance on Mental Ilnness, has a handout of good questions for relatives of someone with a mental illness which comes from their free Family to Family Course.
Guardianship for an incapacitated individual has its limitations, as well. Seems they listen to the patient, and even if that person does not possess sound judgment, their wishes are respected. This is the right of every individual, and protected by law. You and I have that right, as well. Even for those with mental illness, who cannot make rational decisions, it seems our participation is "by invitation," and the individual's request for privacy protected. Where mental illness is involved, this can become quite interesting...
We have Kaiser Permanante, and they had my mother-in-law sign a form that gives me permission to hear whatever she hears. She wanted all of us that are hands on caregivers to have equal knowledge and input. Since all of Kaiser is linked together via computer, whoever is with her at her appointment, gets to make a decision at the time if one needs to be made. It's pretty handy.
I agree you need to find a doc that will deal with you as her caregiverand if her present doc is in a group I would report him to the director of the group.
Annalidiot is right, when I made my comment earlier I assumed that your mother had dementia and could not make safe decisions. But a POA is very limited if the person is competent. You would need "conservatorship" if you wanted to be completely in charge.
You didn't say what the issue was that you wanted to discuss with the doctor, but you may consider the fact that even a DPAH (healthcare proxy) cannot supercede your mom's direct relationship with her doctor - as long as she is competant and she is speaking to the doctor it doesn't automatically give you any authority.
Please don't take this as a negative - but being named to "speak" on someone's behalf in a POA is not carte blanche. If you are not able to sit with your mom and have her tell the doctor that she wants the doctor to speak to you directly or privately then your POA means nothing until she is unable to speak for herself. the term "Power of Attorney" is very misunderstood when it comes to family and healthcare.
So let us know your exact situation if you will and maybe someone can help or at least commiserate with you. Remember, those rules are there for the patient - not the family.
What is it you want to discuss? What reason did the doctor give to not talk to you?
I recently had the same problem at Torrance Memorial Hospital where my Dad is. I called the hospital and had the doctors with whom I could not communicate taken OFF my Dad's case. As well, I have lodged a formal complaint with Medicare and with Secure Horizons.
The problem with the insurance company is that may REQUIRE other "secret" forms in addition to your POA and for the past 3 weeks I have gotten the run around from Secure Horizons while my Dad has been in the hospital without a voice. Finally, my sister, who is an attorney got them to "cough up" the fact that you ALSO need a form called an an Authorized Representative Form; this is specific to Secure Horizons. In addition I found out that Secure Horizons PURGE their systems each year of your carefully filed POA so it is imperative to REFILE your POA and other required paperwork EVERY year. This is absurd but then Secure Horizons is absurd.
Hi~As far as I know-you need POA for Health, and the records can be released to you-or your physician will speak with you. It is very important to have this. Having Just POA-can me that you are overlooking a host of other issues, which was also stated in by another person who replied. If you have POA for medical issues, and the doctor still refuses to go over matters with you, it is time to fined another physician/neurologist.
One thing that I found works well is to write a letter to the doctor expressing all your concerns. Although HIPPA regulations are strict, you can talk to the doctor and voice your feelings and worries. Alot of time they see the person for a few minutes and they are on their best behavior so the doctor doesnt know about all your concerns. Write a letter or just tell the doctor you want to talk to them and you know they cant respond with out the completed paperwork but you have concerns now. If they wont listen then yep time to find another one. But nothing stops you from talking to the doctor.
If your mother has capacity and is able to make healthcare decisions for herself, it doesn't necessarily matter that you are her POA. Many physicians want/need family input, and usually if the patient instructs them to share personal health information with another person they will. Ask you mother to advise her doctor that it is appropriate for him to talk to you, if not help her find another physician who will talk to you about her condition/care. It is important for you to be involved, since if something does happen to her, you would be the person most likely providing care for her. Good luck!
Have you given a copy of your POA to the doctor's office?
Is it a Durable or Medical POA? To a doctor or hospital about all that a Durable POA means is that someone will make sure the bills are paid. A Medical POA carries more weight in this type of situation.
Every doctor that my mother sees has been given a copy of both of my POAs. Upon a cousin's advice, I keep a copy of each POA in each of my cars in case I need to have it for some emergency.
I not only go with my mother on her appointments, but I also contact mainly her neurologist about health concerns.
I definitely agree, if this doctor will not abide by your POA, you need to find one who will.
There is something called HIPPA regulations, it was started to protect families from sales people getting medical information and trying to sell stuff to people recently hospitalized. But the regulation was so strongly written that now many doctors and hospital fear getting in trouble. Technically they should never even give information over the phone!?
Are you sure its the doctor refusing, or some officious staff member. Have you shown them the POA that you have? If you have - they should have no problem giving you information. Nevertheless, you can take your mother to another doctor and they will request her files from the first doctor (they cannot refuse, and in 20 years I have never seen it). Then you can establish a relationship with the new doctor AND his staff. p.s. always be nice to staff and nurses, if they like you, they can make your life a lot easier.
I cose the doctor for my mother as he has a good rep and I am always allowed to sit in on their discussions and he knows she doesn't do what she needs to do so he and I discuss what is next in her plan of health. There are some good ones out there just have to ask questions, find out what other people are using in your community. I live a very small town in the country so it is different than a large city. This firm has been established for 50 odd years by our doctors father so reputation is a meaningful thing here in the south. I encourage you to look for another source you can probably google physicians in your area to find out what kind of references they have.
I'm wondering if others have had the same experience. Is it a general failure in the healthcare system that PCPs can disregard POA? Are there no PT/caregiver "rights" in this regard?
Find one that will and have your mothers records sent to the new one she can sign for them no charge express your concerns to the new doc and tell him/her that is why you are shopping for a new PCD
By proceeding, I agree that I understand the following disclosures:
I. How We Work in Washington.
Based on your preferences, we provide you with information about one or more of our contracted senior living providers ("Participating Communities") and provide your Senior Living Care Information to Participating Communities. The Participating Communities may contact you directly regarding their services.
APFM does not endorse or recommend any provider. It is your sole responsibility to select the appropriate care for yourself or your loved one. We work with both you and the Participating Communities in your search. We do not permit our Advisors to have an ownership interest in Participating Communities.
II. How We Are Paid.
We do not charge you any fee – we are paid by the Participating Communities. Some Participating Communities pay us a percentage of the first month's standard rate for the rent and care services you select. We invoice these fees after the senior moves in.
III. When We Tour.
APFM tours certain Participating Communities in Washington (typically more in metropolitan areas than in rural areas.) During the 12 month period prior to December 31, 2017, we toured 86.2% of Participating Communities with capacity for 20 or more residents.
IV. No Obligation or Commitment.
You have no obligation to use or to continue to use our services. Because you pay no fee to us, you will never need to ask for a refund.
V. Complaints.
Please contact our Family Feedback Line at (866) 584-7340 or ConsumerFeedback@aplaceformom.com to report any complaint. Consumers have many avenues to address a dispute with any referral service company, including the right to file a complaint with the Attorney General's office at: Consumer Protection Division, 800 5th Avenue, Ste. 2000, Seattle, 98104 or 800-551-4636.
VI. No Waiver of Your Rights.
APFM does not (and may not) require or even ask consumers seeking senior housing or care services in Washington State to sign waivers of liability for losses of personal property or injury or to sign waivers of any rights established under law.
I agree that:
A.
I authorize A Place For Mom ("APFM") to collect certain personal and contact detail information, as well as relevant health care information about me or from me about the senior family member or relative I am assisting ("Senior Living Care Information").
B.
APFM may provide information to me electronically. My electronic signature on agreements and documents has the same effect as if I signed them in ink.
C.
APFM may send all communications to me electronically via e-mail or by access to an APFM web site.
D.
If I want a paper copy, I can print a copy of the Disclosures or download the Disclosures for my records.
E.
This E-Sign Acknowledgement and Authorization applies to these Disclosures and all future Disclosures related to APFM's services, unless I revoke my authorization. You may revoke this authorization in writing at any time (except where we have already disclosed information before receiving your revocation.) This authorization will expire after one year.
F.
You consent to APFM's reaching out to you using a phone system than can auto-dial numbers (we miss rotary phones, too!), but this consent is not required to use our service.
Please don't take this as a negative - but being named to "speak" on someone's behalf in a POA is not carte blanche. If you are not able to sit with your mom and have her tell the doctor that she wants the doctor to speak to you directly or privately then your POA means nothing until she is unable to speak for herself. the term "Power of Attorney" is very misunderstood when it comes to family and healthcare.
So let us know your exact situation if you will and maybe someone can help or at least commiserate with you. Remember, those rules are there for the patient - not the family.
What is it you want to discuss? What reason did the doctor give to not talk to you?
The problem with the insurance company is that may REQUIRE other "secret" forms in addition to your POA and for the past 3 weeks I have gotten the run around from Secure Horizons while my Dad has been in the hospital without a voice. Finally, my sister, who is an attorney got them to "cough up" the fact that you ALSO need a form called an an Authorized Representative Form; this is specific to Secure Horizons. In addition I found out that Secure Horizons PURGE their systems each year of your carefully filed POA so it is imperative to REFILE your POA and other required paperwork EVERY year. This is absurd but then Secure Horizons is absurd.
This is what I have learned so far.
Is it a Durable or Medical POA? To a doctor or hospital about all that a Durable POA means is that someone will make sure the bills are paid. A Medical POA carries more weight in this type of situation.
Every doctor that my mother sees has been given a copy of both of my POAs. Upon a cousin's advice, I keep a copy of each POA in each of my cars in case I need to have it for some emergency.
I not only go with my mother on her appointments, but I also contact mainly her neurologist about health concerns.
I definitely agree, if this doctor will not abide by your POA, you need to find one who will.
Are you sure its the doctor refusing, or some officious staff member. Have you shown them the POA that you have? If you have - they should have no problem giving you information.
Nevertheless, you can take your mother to another doctor and they will request her files from the first doctor (they cannot refuse, and in 20 years I have never seen it). Then you can establish a relationship with the new doctor AND his staff.
p.s. always be nice to staff and nurses, if they like you, they can make your life a lot easier.