This post is a month late. Before kids departed for college, parents should have had their children execute a simple set of health care directives so that parents can receive medical information about, and make medical decisions for, their college age children. This is especially important for children from divorced families where it is unclear which parent is the decision maker.
The recommended documents are a health care power of attorney (to make the medical decisions) and a HIPAA disclosure so a parent can receive information about their child’s health status after a bad Ecstasy trip or injury while car surfing.