Parental Consent Form

This article was published in the most recent Insight magazine regarding the new Parental Consent requirements.

In 2021, the Florida legislature passed a law that requires all health care practitioners in Florida, including optometrists and their employees, to first obtain written parental consent before providing, soliciting, or arranging health care services for minor children. The law also requires written parental consent before prescribing medicinal drugs or performing medical procedures on minor children. Any healthcare practitioner who violates this law is subject to disciplinary action on their license and commits a first-degree criminal misdemeanor. To comply with this law, we recommend creating a written consent form for parents to sign before any healthcare services are provided. The consent form should explicitly state that the parent is giving consent for the healthcare provider to provide, solicit, or arrange health care services or prescribe medicinal drugs to the minor child. We recommend requiring parents to sign a new consent form each year to ensure the consent and parent’s wishes are current. This new law also presents a potential logistical problem regarding scheduling appointments for minor children. We recommend the following steps to ensure the law is not violated: If a parent attempts to schedule an appointment, it is okay to tentatively schedule an appointment. However, inform the parent that the scheduled appointment is tentative and cannot be confirmed until a signed written consent form is received. The consent form can be sent or received via email but the signature on the form should be handwritten and dated. Once the signed form is received the appointment can be confirmed with the parent.

Please click here for a parental consent form template you may use in your offices.