Medical confidentiality, protected by Federal law, makes entire sense when we parent-age people think of ourselves in relation to our own parents (with whom many of us haven't shared our own personal health details for decades). That said, it's an abrupt transition from being able to call our pediatricians about our 17-year-olds...to our 18-year-olds deciding what they do (and don't ) want to share with us. That's why we strongly suggest that you have a conversation with your own student about how they intend to communicate with you around health issues while at college.
Williams provides health services to your student (just as your professional caregivers provide them to you) with the promise of full confidentiality. Indeed, except in cases of clear emergency, we're legally prohibited from sharing any information about our confidential conversations with your student unless they give us permission to do so. Within these guidelines, we're delighted to partner with you in ensuring your student a healthy Williams experience. You can call us at any time with questions about our general range of services for all students. You can even call to share concerns and questions about your own student-understanding that we can't share specific personal information back to you unless your student tells us we can. Your student is free to invite you into a conversation with our health staff at any point.
A word on health care proxies
It's a good idea for students and indeed all individuals over age 18 to appoint a health care proxy-someone to express their wishes and make health care decisions for them if they are unable to speak for themselves due to incapacitation. That proxy document, however, would not be held by-or activated at-Williams because the college doesn't treat patients who are incapacitated, beyond ensuring their transfer to an emergency department. Health care proxies get entered into a patient's record through one of three ways: the patient provides it to the provider/hospital, the hospital asks the patient to fill out a new form, or a friend or family member of the patient supplies it to the hospital after being notified that the patient is incapacitated. Most healthcare proxies are easy to establish and honored across state lines. This downloadable Massachusetts form, for example, can be completed without legal counsel.