Welcome to Blythedale's Family Health Portal!

How do I get started using the portal?

Before using Blythedale’s Family Health Portal, please carefully review the User Agreement and Terms and Conditions for important information outlining your rights and responsibilities along with information about how information exchanged through Blythedale’s Family Health Portal will be used.

1.    Request access from Blythedale Children’s Hospital. Access to the portal is allowed if you satisfy any of the following criteria:

    a.  I am the parent or guardian of a patient who is under the age of 12 and consent to this agreement.

    b.  Both of the following criteria are met:

          i.  The parent or guardian of an adolescent patient (between the ages of 12 and 18) who consents to this agreement;

AND

          ii.  The adolescent patient consents to the proxy access of their parent or guardian to Blythedale’s Family Health Portal.

    c.  I am a patient over the age of 18 and consent to this agreement.

2.  You will receive a “welcome” email.   This email will instruct you on how to complete your enrollment and create a login and password.  You will also be directed to select specific security questions and answers to enhance the privacy of your account.  

3.  Review and accept the Blythedale Family Health Portal User Agreement and Terms and Conditions.  Electronically submit the requested information and accept the terms of the Agreement by clicking “Accept.”  By selecting “Accept” you are indicating that you have read and fully understand the User Agreement and Terms and Conditions, therefore creating an electronic signature of acceptance.  

4.  Once you are logged into the Blythedale Family Health Portal for the first time, you will be prompted to create your unique username and password.  You can go to “preferences” on the bottom of the page to change your password at any time.  

5.  If you experience any difficulties, please call our Information Technology department at (914) 592-7555, ext. 71640.  To identify yourself, you will need the privacy code provided to the Hospital when your child was registered at Blythedale Children’s Hospital.  If you do not have a privacy code, please contact the IT Department at (914) 592-7555, ext. 71640 for assistance. 

Why is my access as a parent/guardian now restricted as my child turns 12?

Your Blythedale Family Health Portal account will be reset on their 12th birthday. To renew your proxy access as their parent or guardian, certain documents will need to be reviewed and signed by you as the parent/guardian and we will need to ensure your child consents to your continued access.¹  

Both federal and New York state laws protect the sharing of private health information. While your child is not legally considered an adult until they turn 18, they are entitled, as adolescents (defined in New York as ages 12-18),² to obtain medical care without parental consent under certain circumstances and consent from the adolescent is required to release information about this care.

For example, adolescents are allowed to seek independent care for matters of sexual health (HIV & STD testing and treatment), reproductive health (contraception, prenatal care, abortion services), mental health care, and alcohol and substance abuse. Adolescents can choose to keep this information confidential between them and their health care provider or share this information with a parent or guardian. ³  

When portal access was first established, you were able to request access to any information within the medical record.  Now that your child is turning 12, we need to ensure that your child wants you to continue to have access to certain information.  To accomplish this, we are ceasing any access to your child’s records when they turn 12 and re-enable it once your child’s consent is obtained. 

¹ Please review the HIPAA Authorization and Terms and Conditions if you have any more questions regarding Consent to Access.

² NYCRR 300.5(b)(4) states that a health care provider may withhold from a minor patient’s parent or guardian if the minor is over the age of 12 and objects to the disclosure. Healthcare providers rely on their own judgment as to whether to disclose the information.

³ NYCRR 300.5(b)(4) details the care that all minors can consent to on their own and may not be disclosed to a minor’s parent or guardian without that minor’s consent.

Can’t you just block access to the information protected by federal and state laws?

Unfortunately, hospital medical records are lengthy, and information appears in many different places at different times. The risk of us inadvertently disclosing protected health information of an adolescent child is too great to hope that no sensitive information is in a more public portion of their record. Many children consent to continued proxy access and sharing health information with their parents. Moreover, there are benefits to adolescents understanding their rights and protections to privacy and developing their own relationships with their healthcare providers.

We understand that these changes may be jarring, especially when your child is sick, and you want to understand what is happening. If your child is unwilling or unable to consent, please speak to your child’s healthcare provider or social worker to help you navigate any special circumstances. This is one of the reasons we give advance notice of the portal access termination.

If my portal access is terminated, can I still access my child’s record?

You may request a paper copy of a portion of the child’s record by calling our Health Information Management department at (914) 831-2403. We will be happy to provide the parts of their records you are entitled to view.

Understand that we are still responsible for ensuring that your child’s protected health information is not disclosed without their consent, and you will still not be able to access any information deemed confidential by our healthcare providers or your child.