Four steps to preserving adolescent confidentiality in an electronic health environment

Best practices in adolescent care require the ability to provide confidential services, particularly for reproductive health care. As systems implement electronic health records and patients use health portals to access information and communicate with their healthcare team, special attention should be paid to protection of adolescent confidentiality in the electronic environment. Professional organizations have issued guidance for electronic health records and portal use, but implementation has varied widely between systems, with multiple risks for breaches of confidentiality. Despite interest from patients and families, adolescent health portal use remains low. Understanding the legal and electronic environments in which we care for adolescent patients allows us to educate, advocate, and implement our electronic tools in a way that respects our adolescent patients' need for confidential care, the importance of their caregivers in promoting their health, and the legal rights of both.