Minors and Parents Information
This information is contained in the Terms and Conditions for the patient portal, to which all account holders agree at the time of enrollment and each subsequent login.
Dear Friends,
Mount Nittany Health is excited to offer you online access to health record information, as well as secure communication tools to communicate with us and take a more active role in your own and your family's healthcare. As part of those online capabilities, parents have access to the records of their minor children.
As part of our commitment to providing this online access, we are obligated to comply with Pennsylvania laws. In Pennsylvania, the Mental Health age of maturity is 14 years old. This means that we have to provide safeguards to protect the privacy of patients receiving mental health treatment in Pennsylvania beginning at the age of 14.
Similarly, when a minor becomes an emancipated minor before he reaches the age of 18, he or she has the full and exclusive right to control his or her records. The emancipated minor can determine for him/herself who else, if anyone, may have access to his or her records. A minor between 14 and 17 can become emancipated before 18 if any of the following Age of Majority acts occurs:
1. he is married or divorced;
2. she is 16 years or older, has left her parents’ household, and is capable of acting independently;
3. he has graduated from high school;
4. she has been pregnant; or
5. a court has declared the minor to be emancipated.
If one of these Age of Majority events occurs, the minor has the right to restrict parental access to the minor’s records. We have no direct means of knowing if a patient becomes an emancipated minor before age 18. We will assume that one of these events has NOT occurred, unless you or your child advises us to the contrary. It is, therefore, the responsibility of either the parent or the minor to notify Mount Nittany Health at the number or address below that an Age of Majority event such as legal emancipation, mental health event, or a change in either the minor’s or the parent’s desire to allow a parent or guardian to access the minor's health information online, has occurred.
As you may know, at age 14 minor patients begin to have certain rights regarding the healthcare information they decide to share with their parents or guardian. To protect these rights, Mount Nittany Health will be removing parent or guardian access to their child’s My Mount Nittany Health patient portal account automatically on the child’s 14th birthday. Previously, parents and guardians have had access to their child’s account until the child turned 18.
Beginning in March 2023, minors between the ages of 14 - 17 will need to request a new patient portal account of their own and can choose to “share” access to that account with their parents or guardian, if they wish to do so. They can also stop sharing access at any time.
Parents or guardians of minor patients with disabilities who need continued full access to their child’s account can complete the electronic “Add a Person” form located on mymountnittanyhealth.com to have their access reinstated.
In order for your child to “share” access to their portal account, you will need to have a portal account through Mount Nittany Health as well. If you are a parent or guardian who is not a Mount Nittany Health patient, or you do not manage your personal health information via a My Mount Nittany Health patient portal account, please complete the Patient Portal Account Request form.
Thank you for trusting Mount Nittany Health with your care. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your Mount Nittany Health physician’s office.
Sincerely,
Mount Nittany Health
HIM/Medical Records Department
1800 E. Park Ave
State College, PA 16803
814.234.6167
Revised 01/11/2023