Joint Parental Responsibilities in Paediatric Healthcare.
In most families, both parents, whether separated or together, have Joint Parental Responsibility for the care of their children. As part of their shared role, each normally has access to information and share decision-making about their child's health care until the child is 16 years or older.
Parental cooperation and communication will help your child's doctor better understand your child’s history and concerns and develop an appropriate and effective management plan.
Your child’s specialist and their administrative team will work within the requirements of Australian Law, including Family and Privacy Law, regarding parenting, parents' rights and responsibilities, and children's rights and best interests. We must do this within the limits and constraints of our practice software and other systems, and Medicare requirements.
Court Orders may sometimes restrict a parent or parents in some aspects of their parental roles.
Patients 16 years or older should advise their paediatric specialist and Prosper Paediatrics if they wish to limit or refuse their parents' access to information, involvement, or decision-making.
If you and your child’s other parent are separated, you should
Obtain and read the information handout, "Joint Parental Responsibility in Paediatric Health Care."
This handout provides essential information about various legal considerations, privacy matters and how we contact and communicate with separated parents.
This handout should be shared with your child’s other parent.
This handout should be saved and reviewed regularly.
Provide the name and contact details of each legally recognised parent;
Understand that each parent has the right to be provided with information so that they can participate in appointments and decisions, and be informed about their child’s healthcare, unless Court Orders restrict this.
Provide any current Court Orders about parenting and contact matters;
Decide how you will ensure that information about your child’s healthcare will be shared in accordance with your joint parental responsibilities.
Will one parent be the primary contact and undertake to forward all the information needed by the other parent?
Ask us to routinely use both parent’s emails when emailing.
Will both parents prefer that we try to keep each parent’s email address in our primary email contact field? This will allow us to routinely send booking, billing and clinical information to each parent. This can be helpful if you find it difficult to share information about your child’s care and communicate with your child’s other parent.
Emails will show both parents’ email addresses in the recipient field and you will be able to check that the email has been sent to your child’s other parent. However, your joint parental responsibilities will continue. If we have not sent an email to the other parent and the information should be shared in accordance with your joint parental responsibilities, you will need to forward the email to them.
Sometimes we will require the routine use of both emails to assist you to parent jointly.
Immediately advise us if there is a serious need to withhold the following information from clinical letters, account and other documents relating to your child’s healthcare.
you or your child’s residential address
your child’s Medicare number
You may have a serious need to keep this information from your child’s other parent or a third party. If this is the case, you must advise Prosper Paediatrics and your provider immediately in writing.