ABSTRACT
The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) is a 430-bed pediatric hospital. Last year, it had more than 1 million outpatient and inpatient visits. Children’s Hospital has a growing network of facilities and resources created to provide exceptional services to all children for every possible need. Pediatricians play an important role in a patient’s transition from child to adult. This process is often viewed with conflicting emotions by the parent. The first time that a boy does not want his mother in the exam room with him can be a little traumatic for Mom. CHOP clinicians help families work through this challenging time in a child’s life. When CHOP implemented a patient portal, the confidentiality rights of adolescents were an important consideration. Since the electronic health record (EHR) does not have functionality to analyze a patient’s status regarding complex legal criteria, CHOP faced the task of defining portal policies that would cover all of the laws’ provisions.
