Davis Michelle, Fang Andrea
Rutgers NJMS
University of California, San Francisco
Adolescence is the critical transition from childhood to adulthood, characterized by unique biological, cognitive, emotional, and social changes. In the United States, adolescence also marks the last stage in a minor's life before he or she transition's to legal adulthood at the age of 18 in most states. Minors legally cannot provide consent to their medical care and are not subject to the confidentiality protections under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). Parents or legal guardians usually have the authority to make medical decisions on behalf of minors and access their confidential medical information under the "best-interests standard" since, under the law, minors lack the cognitive maturity to be considered competent like adults.
青春期是从童年到成年的关键过渡期，其特点是独特的生理、认知、情感和社会变化。在美国，青春期也是未成年人生命中的最后一个阶段，之后在大多数州，他们将在18岁时过渡到法定成年期。法律上，未成年人不能对自己的医疗护理给予同意，也不受1996年《健康保险流通与责任法案》（HIPAA）的保密保护。父母或法定监护人通常有权代表未成年人做出医疗决定，并根据“最佳利益标准”获取他们的保密医疗信息，因为根据法律，未成年人缺乏像成年人那样被视为有行为能力的认知成熟度。
