Ask to be linked, instead of borrowing a password
Ask a doctor’s office to link you to somebody you help, openly and with their agreement.
A great many people are quietly running somebody else’s health admin from a piece of card with a password written on it. It works, and it is the arrangement that causes the most trouble later.
There is a proper version. Offices can link one person to another so that you use your own login and act openly on their behalf. It is usually called proxy access, or caregiver access, and it is what the shared password is a poor imitation of.
Key points
- Ask a doctor’s office to link you to somebody, rather than borrowing their password
- Say what a linked person can and cannot do, and who decides
- End the arrangement, from either side, with one phone call
What to remember
- You cannot grant yourself this. The office grants it, after hearing from the person being helped.
- Helping openly, with your own login, is kinder to both of you than a card with a password on it.
Try this
If you already help somebody using their login, call their doctor’s office and ask what proxy access it offers. Even a limited answer protects both of you.
Practice: Ask to be linked, instead of borrowing a password. Your first lesson is free, with no account or card; the rest are part of a Lantern plan. Interactive lessons require JavaScript.