All medical records at the Health and Wellness Center are strictly confidential. Information about a student's care will be released only with the student's written permission. All Health and Wellness Center staff adhere to established ethical principles and codes of professional practice, including patient confidentiality.
All information concerning a student's visit to the Health and Wellness Center, including their identity, reason for the visit, diagnosis, treatments, and billing information, is considered confidential information.
The one exception to this is a life-threatening situation where a student is so ill they are unable to give consent.
What Confidentiality Means to Students
Students at Penn State can be assured that their medical records are strictly confidential. Your medical records are not available to anyone, including parents, professors, and friends.
What Confidentiality Means to Parents
It is certainly understandable that as concerned parents of students who have been ill, parents may want access to their son's or daughter's medical record. Unfortunately, patient confidentiality standards prohibit the Health and Wellness Center from allowing parents or anyone else access to a student's medical records without their written authorization. Although this high degree of confidentiality may be a concern to parents seeking information, a student's medical information is released only with their written consent or by a court-ordered subpoena. We will, however, discuss a student's medical information with parents upon receipt of the student's permission to disclose their medical records.
Privacy Practices
Please review the Notice of Privacy Practices at Penn State. It provides details about how information is used and disclosed and how you can get access to this information.
Disclosure of Medical Records
A completed valid Authorization for Disclosure of Medical Records (PDF | Word) is required for the release of medical records. Information released shall be limited to the minimum necessary which fulfills the purpose stated in the authorization. Reasonable attempts shall be made to verify the authenticity of the signature on the authorization. On the authorization are areas for the patient to address applicable considerations for release of information from psychiatric/psychological, substance abuse, sexual assault and HIV-related records. Otherwise, records relating to psychiatric/psychological, substance abuse, sexual assault and HIV-related testing or treatment shall receive additional protection and not be released unless patient authorizes specific disclose on release or records authorization form .