An authorization letter for medical treatment is a very important piece of legal document. It lets you give permission to someone to authorize the necessary medical treatment for your children or a senior citizen who is your responsibility.
This letter is used during your absence or when you cannot be reached to provide timely permission. The authority to do so is usually given for emergency situations.
This document may be addressed to a nursing home, an old age facility or a day-care center depending on the subject. Additionally, as the primary caregiver, you may also give this authority to relatives or acquaintances for your children during your absence. Another situation when this letter may play an important role be when your child is traveling without you. This can be when he goes on a school excursion or a trip with friends or another family member. The accompanying relative or chaperone then receives the authority for medical care from you.
This document ensures the safety of your children or your elderly parents when they are under the care of someone else, such as a relative, a day-care center, school or nursing home. No one is authorized to carry out any medical procedures on your children unless the permission of the parents or legal guardians has been provided in the form of this letter.
While giving this document to someone, make sure you trust the person or organization completely. Moreover, this letter can only be issued by the parents or legal guardians of the children. On the other hand, in case of a senior citizen, this authorization letter will only be valid if it is written by the children, grandchildren or legal caregiver of the person involved.
The contents of this letter should be as advised below.
- State what the purpose of this letter is. Provide the authorization in clear words. Explicitly mention the individual or organization who is being provided your permission for authorizing medical treatment.
- The writer may provide the reason for giving the authorization to someone else. A restriction can be placed by stating that the provided authorization may only be valid in case you are out of reach and cannot be contacted.
- You may restrict the authorized treatment to emergency situations only. Likewise, you may also provide a list of treatments or medical tests which you permit to be carried out when necessary.
- Do mention any allergies or special medical conditions that your child or elderly parents have. This information is important for the authorized medical care professional while administering medications and performing the necessary medical procedures.
- Provide a date for the authorization letter to expire. Such authorization should not be indefinite as then it will give unconditional power to another party over the medical treatment of your children or elderly parents. You reserve the right to make all necessary decisions for the medical care of your children and parents unless you are temporarily unavailable and cannot be contacted on time.
- The writer should make sure that all legal formalities have been fulfilled in order to make this letter effective. Any relevant forms that need to be filled out and signed accordingly should be enclosed with the letter.
- You may provide the name of a specific doctor who should be consulted in case of a medical emergency. This can be your trusted family physician or your child’s pediatrician who knows your child’s medical history and requirements.
- This letter should be exactly to the point. It serves as a note for medical care professionals to have a legal permission for carrying out the necessary treatment. Therefore, this note should be short and concise. Moreover, the tone should be formal.
Here are a few sample letters authorizing medical treatment under different circumstances.
Sample Letter -1
I am writing to provide my permission to XYZ Day-care Centre to administer medical treatment to my 2 years old son, John in case of an emergency. Please note that I am providing this authorization only for situations when I cannot be reached. Moreover, the required medical treatment should be restricted to emergency situations only. You will find enclosed my son’s medical history including a record of his vaccines and a list of his allergies.
The mentioned authorization will be effective from this month till 30th September 2019.
Sample Letter -2
Through this letter, I grant permission to my parents – Mr. and Mrs. Meezo – to authorize any required medical treatment for my children, Ann Doe and Ben Doe during my absence. I allow my parents to take the necessary decisions for my children in case of a medical emergency while I am abroad on a business trip.
This authorization is valid until I return from my trip in April.
Sample Letter -3
By means of this letter, I authorize XYZ Nursing Home to carry out the necessary medical treatment for my grandfather, Mr. Meezo, in the event of an emergency when I cannot be reached. My grandfather is a resident at your old age facility. Being a heart patient, he requires special care.
He has already sustained 2 heart attacks in the past and suffers from angina pain from time to time. You have my permission to provide him with the necessary treatment in case he requires urgent medical attention due to his heart condition. If you are unable to conduct the required treatment at your facility, you must contact Dr. ABC at Doe Hospital of Cardiology. He is my grandfather’s cardiologist and knows well about his medical history. I have enclosed his contact information with this letter.
Please note that I have directed your nursing home to contact me in order to seek my permission whenever my grandfather requires medical attention. I authorize medical treatment to you only when I am unavailable. This authorization is valid for a period of 1 year. I will review it after this period considering my grandfather’s health condition.
Thank you for your services.
