Care for the mature minor, and when the minor is legally entitled to consent to

their own medical treatment.

Laws that allow minors to consent to medical treatment vary from state to state.
In some ststes minors are allowed to consent to medical therapy based on status
, such as emancipation , marriage, pregnancy, living apart from parents, and
when given the status of mature minor. The mature minor rule was created in
1967 and is based on the west Virginia Supreme Court case belcher v,CAMC,
which allowed health careproviders to treat a youth as adult based on an
assessment and documentation of the adolescnts maturity level.According to
this decision,a court determine that a minor is deemed mature , which
determination is based on various factors, including age, ability,experience,
education and training degree of matury and judgment exchibited conduct and
demeanor and capacity to understand the risk and benefits of medical
treatment. The process to become a mature minor is known as judicial bypass
and may very from state to state. This exception to prental consent muse be
received from acourt.
In addition , addolescent may consent to medical care of they are
considared emancipated. Emancipation implies that a minor must be of a certain
age, must live apart from his or her parents, and must be self sufficient. Minors
are also considered emancipated if they are self supporting not living at
hoe,married, pregnant or a parent, in the military ,or declared emancipated by
the judicial system.
In some states , consent to health care may be based on the type of care
the adolscent is seeking. Examples of the types of helath care services that may
be obtainded without parental conent my include maternity services
contrasevtive management treatment and diagnosis of sexually transmitted
infection(HIV)or other reportable diseases treatment of drug or alcohol problems
and care related to sexual assault or mental health services. These provisions are
very important helath-related issues. Moreover , research shows that adolescents
are more likely to seek medical care if confidentiliaty is protected.

Reportable Diseases
Reporting sexually transmitted infections(STIs), HIV, and other reortabe illnesses
can be stressful for the patient. This may be partycularely stressful for the
adolescent. The information may be reported by the physician or by the
physician designated appointee. All those involved in the oversight of the blood
products , including clinical laboratories or blood banks, are also required to
reprts STIs and other reportable conditions to the states health departement .In
addition,it is mandatory that the information be disclosed to partners.Partner
reporting is a way to control the spread of disease and to ensure