When Your Student Gets Sick Far From Home: A Parent's Checklist

The call usually comes at a bad time. Your student has a fever, or hurt their ankle, or just sounds wrong, and you are a flight away. What you can do is make sure they know where to go, that the insurance works, that their medications are close by, and that a doctor or the school is allowed to talk to you if it gets serious. Most of that work happens before anyone is sick.

In an emergency, call 911

If your student has a medical emergency, they or someone with them should call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. Do not wait to reach a parent first.

For illnesses like the flu, the CDC lists these emergency warning signs in adults that need immediate medical attention:

• Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
• Persistent pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen
• Persistent dizziness, confusion, or being unable to wake up
• Seizures
• Not urinating
• Severe muscle pain
• Severe weakness or unsteadiness
• Fever or cough that improves, then comes back or gets worse
• Worsening of a chronic medical condition

The CDC notes this list is not complete. If something feels seriously wrong, treat it as serious.

If you are the one calling. With few exceptions, 911 calls cannot be transferred to other towns, cities, or states, according to 911.gov. If you are at home in another state, calling 911 yourself may not reach help in your student's area. Save the campus police emergency number and the local police number near your student's housing in your phone now, along with their exact street address, building, and room number, which 911.gov says callers should be ready to give.

Poisoning or overdose questions. Poison Help is 1-800-222-1222, available 24/7, per HRSA. If someone is drowsy or unconscious, having a seizure, or having trouble breathing, call 911, per Mayo Clinic's poisoning first aid page.

Cost should not slow anyone down. The federal No Surprises Act protects people from unexpected out of network bills for emergency room visits, according to CMS.

In a mental health crisis, 988

The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is free, confidential, and available 24/7/365 by call, text, or chat, per 988lifeline.org. Text and chat are also available in Spanish.

988 is not only for the person in crisis. You can call, text, or chat to get help for a loved one, too. If your student says something that frightens you, contact 988 for guidance on what to do next. If they are in immediate danger, call 911, or the campus police emergency line if you are not in the same area.

Campus counseling. Look up your student's campus counseling center now. Note its hours, how to make an appointment, and whether it lists an after hours or crisis phone line. Put that number in both your phone and your student's.

Before anyone gets sick: the paperwork

This is the part most families skip, and it is the part that matters most when something goes wrong.

Why the school and the hospital may not tell you anything

At school, FERPA applies. Once a student attends college at any age, their rights under the federal student privacy law, FERPA, transfer from parents to the student, per the Department of Education's parent guide to FERPA. Records at a campus health clinic are generally covered by FERPA, not HIPAA, according to HHS.

Schools may share information with parents without the student's consent in some cases: if the student is a dependent for tax purposes, or in connection with a health or safety emergency when the information is needed to protect the student or others, per the Department of Education and the joint HHS and Education guidance. Note the word "may." Schools are not required to. The simplest path is your student's written consent.

Off campus, HIPAA applies. At an urgent care, hospital, doctor's office, or pharmacy, HIPAA rules apply. According to HHS, a provider may share relevant information with a family member involved in a patient's care if the patient does not object, and may use professional judgment to share information if the patient is incapacitated. Beyond that, a family member generally needs the patient's written authorization, or legal authority under state law to act for them. Being a parent does not automatically give you that authority once your student is an adult.

The forms to talk about with your student

These talks go best before move in, framed as "what every family should do," not "I want to see your records."

• The school's FERPA release. Ask whether your school has its own release form or a setting in the student portal that lets your student authorize the school to share certain information with you. Have your student complete it, and check exactly what it covers, since a release for grades or billing may not cover health or counseling records.
• A HIPAA authorization. This is a written authorization that lets a doctor, hospital, or pharmacy share health information with you. Ask your student's doctor or a hospital system near campus for their form, or ask a lawyer.
• A health care power of attorney or advance health care directive. This names someone, often a parent, to make medical decisions if your student cannot. Under HIPAA, a person with a health care power of attorney is treated as the patient's personal representative, per HHS.
  • In California, the state's Advance Health Care Directive form lets your student name an agent. By default the agent's authority starts when the primary physician determines the person cannot make their own decisions, though the form lets them choose to make it effective right away. It must be signed by two qualified witnesses or acknowledged before a notary. The California Attorney General notes there is no required form, as long as the directive includes what state law requires.
  • In Arizona, the Attorney General offers a Health Care Power of Attorney and a Mental Health Care Power of Attorney at no cost, and says life care planning matters "whether young or old."
  • If your family lives in another state, ask a lawyer which state's form makes the most sense. Keep signed copies on your phone and your student's phone.

Insurance cards and coverage

Confirm the coverage works near campus. Young adults can generally stay on a parent's job based health plan until 26 even if they live away from home or start school, per HealthCare.gov. But staying covered and being in network near campus are different things. An HMO generally will not cover out of network care except in an emergency, and may require members to live or work in its service area, per HealthCare.gov.

Call your insurer before move in and ask:

• Which urgent care clinics, hospitals, and pharmacies near campus are in network?
• Is the campus health center in network, or does it bill separately?
• Is there a nurse advice line or a telehealth service included?
• How is mental health care covered near campus?

Know the school's plan. Your school may offer its own student health insurance, and some schools enroll students automatically. UC San Diego, for example, automatically enrolls all registered students in its plan, UC SHIP, and students who want to opt out must apply for a waiver each academic year by showing comparable coverage, with no guarantee of approval, per UC San Diego Parent and Family. Check your school's rules and deadlines so you are not paying twice or left with a gap.

Make the card easy to find. Your student should carry the physical insurance card and keep a photo of the front and back on their phone. Keep the same photos on yours. A new pharmacy will need the insurance details on that card.

Telehealth: fast, but check the rules

Telehealth can be the quickest way to get seen for common illnesses, through your insurer, the campus health center, or a health system near campus.

One catch: your family doctor back home may not be able to treat your student by video while they are in another state. Health professionals must be licensed or otherwise legally permitted to practice in the state where the patient is located, per Telehealth.HHS.gov. Licensure compacts and other pathways across state lines exist, so ask your doctor before you count on it.

Do not wait on the flu. The CDC says flu antiviral medicines work best when started within two days after symptoms begin, and recommends early treatment for people at higher risk of complications, such as people with asthma, diabetes, or heart disease, per its flu treatment page. If your student is in a higher risk group, a same day telehealth or urgent care visit makes sense.

Prescriptions far from home

Move ongoing prescriptions before they run out. Pick a pharmacy near campus that is in network, then have your student ask that pharmacy to transfer prescriptions from your home pharmacy. Do this weeks before the last refill, not the day they run out.

Controlled medications take more planning. Since August 28, 2023, a DEA registered retail pharmacy can transfer an electronic prescription for a Schedule II to V controlled substance to another pharmacy at the patient's request. It can be transferred only once, only where state law allows, and any refills move with it, per the DEA. Talk with the prescriber before the semester starts about which pharmacy to use and how refills will work across state lines.

Keep a medication list. Your student should keep a current list of their medications, doses, allergies, and prescribing doctors on their phone.

How to help from home in the moment

When your student calls sick, here is a calm order of operations:

1. Check for warning signs. Use the CDC list above. If any apply, the answer is 911 or the emergency room.
2. Decide where to go. Campus health center during open hours, an in network urgent care after hours, telehealth for straightforward illnesses, the emergency room for anything serious.
3. Do the logistics they cannot. Look up hours, call the insurer, find the nearest open pharmacy, and order groceries, medicine, or soup for delivery to their address.
4. Line up local help. A roommate, a friend, or the resident assistant can check on them, walk them to the health center, or pick up a prescription.
5. Handle classes. Encourage your student to email professors early. Ask whether the dean of students office can help notify instructors if they will miss more than a few days.
6. If you cannot reach them and you are worried about their safety, call campus police or local police near their housing and ask about a welfare check.

Know when to get on a plane. A hospital stay, surgery, a serious mental health crisis, or a student who cannot care for themselves are all good reasons. Agree on that together ahead of time.

Find your school's campus health center, nearest urgent care, emergency room, pharmacies, and campus police on your school's local life page on Far From Home.

Quick checklist

• <input /> Saved in both phones: campus police emergency line, local police near housing, campus health center, counseling center and any after hours line, nearest urgent care and ER, pharmacy, 988, Poison Help (1-800-222-1222)
• <input /> Your student's exact address, building, and room number saved
• <input /> School FERPA release completed, and you know what it covers
• <input /> HIPAA authorization signed
• <input /> Health care power of attorney or advance directive signed, copies on both phones
• <input /> Insurer called: in network urgent care, hospital, and pharmacy near campus
• <input /> School health insurance waiver or enrollment handled before the deadline
• <input /> Insurance card photos on both phones
• <input /> Telehealth option chosen and app set up
• <input /> Ongoing prescriptions transferred to a pharmacy near campus
• <input /> Medication and allergy list on your student's phone
• <input /> A small sick day kit in the dorm room
• <input /> An agreed plan for when a parent flies out