Physicians should be providing confidential care to minor adolescents at annual well child visits by spending time alone with the patient, explaining confidentiality laws to the patient, and performing confidential risk screening. Minor adolescent patients are more likely to discuss their health openly and honestly when they are aware of what information can and cannot be shared without their permission. To support physicians in these efforts, AHI has created a support Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Part IV on Improving the Delivery of Confidential Care to Adolescent Patients.

Want to learn more about AHI’s process for quality improvement? Check out our Adolescent-Centered Environment Assessment Process (ACE-AP).

Adolescent patients frequently do not receive recommended confidential care resulting in missed opportunities for addressing health concerns specific to this age group. Physicians support confidential care for adolescent patients, but have knowledge gaps around minor consent and parental notification laws. Confidential care may also be difficult to provide in a busy ambulatory care setting with parents present.

Through this MOC Part IV Project, physicians will improve the provision of confidential care to minor adolescents by more frequently spending time alone with adolescents during an annual well child visit, explaining confidentiality laws to the patient, and performing confidential risk screening.

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At the end of the most recent wave of the MOC Part IV on Adolescent Confidentiality, participating physicians were able to achieve the following: