What legal action if any can I take against dr.s ofc?

[1confusedmom]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Alabama

Ok, first off I have a thread on child custody as well. I have 2 children with EH and he has a common law wife. My issue is this... regardless of the custody issue.

EH's CLW took my daughter to one of those 24 hr clinics without my knowledge for an ear infection. She signed all documents stating that she was the mother of my daughter. She even listed herself to be primary policy holder for insurance but payment was listed as 'private pay'. My daughter is on AllKids and when I called to get info on that, I was told they couldn't speak to me because I was not listed as a parent. CLW gave them her address as my daughter's address and listed a different priary physcian as my daughter's dr. CLW also stated on the forms that my daughter had no known allergies when she is allergic to Amoxicillin. I had to take my custody papers to the dr.'s ofc and was only given a copy of everything in my daughter's file. Nothing else was done.

When I told them that this person was not a legal parent nor legally married to EH, they just looked at me. I asked to speak to someone in charge and was told that the person I needed to talk with was 'out'. I was not listed anywhere on the papers and under 'relation to patient' was John and Jane Doe- Mom and Dad. I'm Ann Smith..

That clinic now has a copy of the custody papers. However nothing was done.

This person also called a different pedi ofc to get medical advice for my son. Even without him being a petient at the ofc. When I called to get info about it, I was met with rudeness and told that there was nothing I could do and that they would "look into it". I have yet to hear anything else.

I called the children's reg pedi ofc and told them what was going on and was told that there was nothing I could do that I would have to take it to family court. I was also told by the reg pedi ofc that CLW could call and recieve medical advice for my son but that because he was an active patient at their ofc, he could not be seen at another pedi ofc.

Thats it. Thats all I was told. Now the ofc nor the other clinic asked for any form of ID or anything. So where does that leave me? I was told that I might have a case to sue for wrong doing under HIPAA. Is that an option and if so how do I go about doing that? What could be a possible out come?

One last thing... Each time this woman has taken my children to the dr. I was never informed of it. I only found out because my children told me. My daughter was out of school for a week while at her dad's and I was never told. Also, I called my daughter's reg. dr. and was told that if she were given Amoxicillin for the ear infection for which she was treated, she could have died!!!!

What can I do about this? How can I keep it from happening again? (where the dr.s ofcs are concerned. I know I will need to go to family court for the other issues)

[lealea1005]

As far as HIPAA is concerned: There are no provisions to collect $$$ from a HIPAA violation. You can file a complaint by following the directions at hipaa.org. There was no HIPAA violation at the office. Actually, they were in compliance by refusing to discuss the medical record with you because you were not listed as a person permitted access to it.

Check with the offices to make sure your custody papers have been placed into your daughter's medical chart. Ask that they also make a notation on the front of ther chart, in red, regarding her Amoxicillin allergy.

Our office requires picture ID from each patient or guardian to be place at the back of their chart...for several reasons. If a step-parent comes in and states they are the parent/guardian, we have no way of knowing they aren't. Same last names don't matter these days. We cannot require custody papers or "proof" of parentage from anyone bringing a child in for treatment.

I cannot comment on your other questions regarding custody or family court. Maybe the seniors in the Family Law sections could help you.

Hope this info was helpful.

[lya]

Whoever has the child in their care can seek and receive medical treatment for the child.

As for the stepparents completing the form in an "honest" manner, that issue is between the physician's office, the stepparent, and the payor (Allkids).

Physician's offices are not in the business of resolving jealousy issues between biological parents and stepparents. Bringing such matters into the physician's office is inappropriate.

I doubt a court will order the stepmother to sit idly by while a child in her care is sick and needs medical attention. I doubt a court will order that "Mama" be called to come get the child and take the child to the doctor's office; but, if such an order were made, I'm betting the same order would direct "Mama" to return the child to the father/steppmother after the doctor's office visit.

You can put a stop to all of this controversy by making sure that the father and stepmother have a written list of the children's allergies, primary physicians and phone numbers, usual pharmacy, etc. You should have already provided the father with a copy of the Allkids cards and with the above referenced information.

Whether you realize it or not, your actions have made you look like the "bad guy". All of these physician offices now consider you to be the one who has problems.

Don't let your jealousy make the lives of these children miserable. They did not ask to be born outside of a loving marriage and they did not ask to be bounced around between the households of misbehaving adults.

I cannot emphasize enough the importance of your letting go of controlling behaviors and acts of jealousy. You are making a muck of everyone's lives. Let it go.

[ecmst12]

This is a perfectly valid complaint, but the source of the problem is stepmom, not doctor's office. Doctor's office is an innocent victim. By representing herself as child's mom, stepmom prevented mom from getting important info about her child's health, and prevented the doctor's office from getting important info about the child's allergies. Unfortunately, there is not much that the doctor's office could have done to prevent this. They can't do a background check on all new patient's parents. And stepmom DID have the right to take child to the doctor, she just should have provided the correct information. Perhaps she was worried if she filled out the form honestly, she would be turned away since she has no legal right to the child's medical info. Regardless, she is the one you have the issue with, not the doctor's office, who have cooperated with you once you established your identity. Hopefully this is something that family court can straighten out.

[1confusedmom]

Originally Posted by lya

Whoever has the child in their care can seek and receive medical treatment for the child.

As for the stepparents completing the form in an "honest" manner, that issue is between the physician's office, the stepparent, and the payor (Allkids).

Physician's offices are not in the business of resolving jealousy issues between biological parents and stepparents. Bringing such matters into the physician's office is inappropriate.

I doubt a court will order the stepmother to sit idly by while a child in her care is sick and needs medical attention. I doubt a court will order that "Mama" be called to come get the child and take the child to the doctor's office; but, if such an order were made, I'm betting the same order would direct "Mama" to return the child to the father/steppmother after the doctor's office visit.

You can put a stop to all of this controversy by making sure that the father and stepmother have a written list of the children's allergies, primary physicians and phone numbers, usual pharmacy, etc. You should have already provided the father with a copy of the Allkids cards and with the above referenced information.

Whether you realize it or not, your actions have made you look like the "bad guy". All of these physician offices now consider you to be the one who has problems.

Don't let your jealousy make the lives of these children miserable. They did not ask to be born outside of a loving marriage and they did not ask to be bounced around between the households of misbehaving adults.

I cannot emphasize enough the importance of your letting go of controlling behaviors and acts of jealousy. You are making a muck of everyone's lives. Let it go.

I am not jealous of anything! I am only concerned for my child. Also, EH has the insurance cards.. I do not. Nor do I have a copy, so that would be his responisbility to make sure that I have access to that. But he refuses! First of all. EH and I were very much married when we had them. I have never been rude or over bearing when it comes to dealing with the drs ofcs. I have always taken my custody papers to them and asked, not told, what can be done.

My children are not "bounced" around from household to house hold. You don't know what is going on with my custody case and I was never/ nor will I ever to be found unfit. Therefore can we please stick to the issue at hand?

I don't have an issue with returning my child back to her father. Thats not the issue. Yes, I understand that if a child is sick, it is the responsibility of the adult to whom she is with to seek medical care. However it is not ok for that person to protray herself to be the "mother" of that child.

BTW..
I have spoken to several attrnys and medical prfessionals and they all agree that a stepparent has no rights in my state and that they are considered LEGAL STRANGERS.
Also, if you must know, The supervisor of the medical records dept. where my son was taken told me herself that SP do not have the right to sign any medical forms for their stepchild. It has to be a LEGAL gaurdian. Which she is NOT.


Wether I look like the bad guy or not, is not the issue, I have read the HIPAA rules and regulations and it doesn't really over anything about this, thats why I posted here.

And forther more, I will not "just let it go", these are my children. The issues that I have with EH and GF (they are not legally married nor does EH consider himself to be married to her) are being taken up in family court, so please don't bother with the who looks bad and who doesn't. I'm not here for that.

[1confusedmom]

Originally Posted by ecmst12

This is a perfectly valid complaint, but the source of the problem is stepmom, not doctor's office. Doctor's office is an innocent victim. By representing herself as child's mom, stepmom prevented mom from getting important info about her child's health, and prevented the doctor's office from getting important info about the child's allergies. Unfortunately, there is not much that the doctor's office could have done to prevent this. They can't do a background check on all new patient's parents. And stepmom DID have the right to take child to the doctor, she just should have provided the correct information. Perhaps she was worried if she filled out the form honestly, she would be turned away since she has no legal right to the child's medical info. Regardless, she is the one you have the issue with, not the doctor's office, who have cooperated with you once you established your identity. Hopefully this is something that family court can straighten out.

Yes, I realize that the main issue is the GF. (They are not legally married) And we are due in family court very soon. I was just wondering about what can be done so that something like this doesn't happen again. I mean, she could take my child anywhere and tell then anything she wants, without my knowledge.

My EH put my children on AllKids without my knowledge... knowing that I have BCBS and can put them on my insurance. He is court order to maintain insurance on the children because during the divorce he had all of us on his BCBS insurance. Once we were divorce I was removed (at my request) and the children remained on. However he changed jobs and was without insurance for several months. During this time, I requested that he allow me to put them on my BCBS insurance and he refused and also refused to obtain a policy of his own. Only after telling him that he was court ordered to maintain insurance, GF then applied for AllKids. When I found out 3 months later that they were on AllKids, I called AllKids to make sure, otherwise I would need to take EH to court so that I could put the children on my insurance. AllKids are the ones that would not talk to me saying that I was not listed as a parent. I offered to send them a copy of my ID and my custody papers, I even asked who to speak with about something like this, still... I can't talk to you. Now if the kids were in my care and say broke an arm, I would not have any access to get proper medical care because I wouldn't know anything about their insurance nor do I have access to such. It was AllKids that would not speak to me not the dr.'s ofc. Sry for the confusion.

I did speak with an attrny about this today and showed him a copy of everything, he informed me that while we would have a hard seeking and monies, we could file criminal charges against the Dr.s ofcs...... I know it's not the dr.s ofcs fault because like most of us, they were working with the information they were given. However, the reason I am still confused is because while I was met with compliance, nothing changed. They did not correct her chart after I spoke with them, nor did they make notes at all. They simply made a copy of the custody papers and stuck them in the back of the chart. They gave me a copy of everything in her file and thats it.

I guess this is a losing battle and other than family court, there seems to be nothing that can be done.

So am I to believe that I could pick up a nieghbors kid and take them to the dr as long as I told them I was the child's mother. No, that would not be ok and I would get in serious trouble for that, as well as the ofc that saw the child. It's just because it happened to be a future stepmom that everyone seems to think the BM is a controlling b****. Which I am not by any means.

What if they gave my child amoxicillin and he was hospitalized or even worse died? Would I have a case then? Dang right I would. but because nothing happened, I should just back off. Uh No. this is the safety of my child and I will not back off from being a concerned mother.

So frustrating!

[barry1817]

Originally Posted by 1confusedmom

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Alabama

Ok, first off I have a thread on child custody as well. I have 2 children with EH and he has a common law wife. My issue is this... regardless of the custody issue.

EH's CLW took my daughter to one of those 24 hr clinics without my knowledge for an ear infection. She signed all documents stating that she was the mother of my daughter. She even listed herself to be primary policy holder for insurance but payment was listed as 'private pay'. My daughter is on AllKids and when I called to get info on that, I was told they couldn't speak to me because I was not listed as a parent. CLW gave them her address as my daughter's address and listed a different priary physcian as my daughter's dr. CLW also stated on the forms that my daughter had no known allergies when she is allergic to Amoxicillin. I had to take my custody papers to the dr.'s ofc and was only given a copy of everything in my daughter's file. Nothing else was done.

When I told them that this person was not a legal parent nor legally married to EH, they just looked at me. I asked to speak to someone in charge and was told that the person I needed to talk with was 'out'. I was not listed anywhere on the papers and under 'relation to patient' was John and Jane Doe- Mom and Dad. I'm Ann Smith..

That clinic now has a copy of the custody papers. However nothing was done.

This person also called a different pedi ofc to get medical advice for my son. Even without him being a petient at the ofc. When I called to get info about it, I was met with rudeness and told that there was nothing I could do and that they would "look into it". I have yet to hear anything else.

I called the children's reg pedi ofc and told them what was going on and was told that there was nothing I could do that I would have to take it to family court. I was also told by the reg pedi ofc that CLW could call and recieve medical advice for my son but that because he was an active patient at their ofc, he could not be seen at another pedi ofc.

Thats it. Thats all I was told. Now the ofc nor the other clinic asked for any form of ID or anything. So where does that leave me? I was told that I might have a case to sue for wrong doing under HIPAA. Is that an option and if so how do I go about doing that? What could be a possible out come?

One last thing... Each time this woman has taken my children to the dr. I was never informed of it. I only found out because my children told me. My daughter was out of school for a week while at her dad's and I was never told. Also, I called my daughter's reg. dr. and was told that if she were given Amoxicillin for the ear infection for which she was treated, she could have died!!!!

What can I do about this? How can I keep it from happening again? (where the dr.s ofcs are concerned. I know I will need to go to family court for the other issues)

I was just wondering if representing oneself as a parent, when they aren't could be considered a fraud, and a criminal act that might need authorities involved. that would seem rather drastic, but while you are on this sight asking, it is just something to check out. If such were the case and future events happened you would have a much better standing to take action in the appropriate venue.

[lealea1005]

Originally Posted by 1confusedmom

So am I to believe that I could pick up a nieghbors kid and take them to the dr as long as I told them I was the child's mother. No, that would not be ok and I would get in serious trouble for that, as well as the ofc that saw the child. It's just because it happened to be a future stepmom that everyone seems to think the BM is a controlling b****. Which I am not by any means.

If you identified yourself as a neighbor and you had a signed, dated, note from the parent/guardian giving you permission to seek treatment, the child could be treated. Honestly, as I said earlier, if a person brings a child in for a visit (especially if it's a first time visit) and that person fills out all the paperwork, including insurance information, and checks "yes" in the relationship box that asks if they are the parent/guardian, how is the office staff to know they are not being truthful? The staff cannot be expected to ask every person presenting with a child for treatment for proof of parentage/guardianship. That's unreasonable.

What if they gave my child amoxicillin and he was hospitalized or even worse died? Would I have a case then? Dang right I would. but because nothing happened, I should just back off. Uh No. this is the safety of my child and I will not back off from being a concerned mother.

So frustrating!

I don't see that you would have a "case" against the Physician who treated your child. He/she can only go by the medical history given to them. They will have documentation that they specifically asked about allergies to medications on the child's medical record.

[SBillock]

First, let me start out by saying if one of your kids broke their arm or got sick, you can seek medical treatment without having a copy of the medical insurance cards. Any emergency department must treat anyone who walks through the door regardless of ability to pay or whether or not they brought their insurance card with them. It is a federal law.

Second, I am going to guess that Allkids is a type of Medicaid coverage in your state. If this is true and you simply informed whomever was treating your child that they have this form of insurance, I am quite sure there is a website or phone number they can call to get id numbers and any other billing information they may need.

I, as a mother myself, understand your frustration and would want to be informed if anyone needed to take my child in for medical treatment. However, like others have said here, the drs ofc that treated your child has to go on faith that the person in front of them is who they say they are and that the information provided is correct. If I were to walk up to you and say Hi, my name is x and this is my son Billy, you would have no reason to doubt me. The same with the drs ofc. From what I can tell, you have done all you could to prevent such things from happening again. If the CLW takes your child back to the same office, hopfully they will have done their job, know of her allergy and treat her correctly.

I also understand you are due in family court soon and I am most sure you will be bringing up these issues. Again, you are doing everything you can to protect your children and making sure that nothing like this happens again in the future.

Unfortunately, when ex's do not communicate and/or do not get along things like this can happen. I suggest that whenever you find out that EH or the CLW has taken one of your kids in for treatment that you simply write a letter to the ofc where they were treated. Explain to the ofc who you are and that the person who brought your child in may have represented herself (if it was the CLW that took the kids in) as the child's mother and to please correct their records accordingly. Simply state you want to make sure it is noted in the child's file that (if it is your daughter) she is allergic to Amox. and that they are insured by Allkids but you do not have a copy of the insurance card and they they can contact their father at: (and give them his info) to get this information. Send a copy of your custody papers with the letter and also provide your information should they wish to get ahold of you for any reason.

By doing the above, you are not asking for any personal information, you are simply providing additional information and you will not be met with the standard "we cannot discuss this with you" response. Also, if they put the letter in the kid's chart, it is now established that you are their legal parent and you should be able to obtain medical information without a hassel should you need to. And, once the letter/information is in their file if the CLW brings the child in again and completes the paperwork in the same fashion hopfully, the drs ofc will not accept it as truth and list her as the step-parent and not parent.

I would also send said letter certified return receipt requested so you have proof they received it.

I am hoping this was helpful.

PS:

As far as your original question, do you have a case for HIPAA violation, I do not believe you do as none of the HIPAA regulations have been broken. The CLW was wrong in completing the forms in the manner in which she did and that is not a HIPAA violation. As stated before, it is not the drs ofc's responsibility to question every new person that shows up to be treated or to do a back ground check on them before they are treated ect.. Quite frankly, they do not have that kind of time.

[lya]

If I read and understood correctly, the insurance card in question is that of the child's father and the OP has no right to interact with AllKids.

AllKids is secondary to BCBS and someone needs to straighten that out.

CLW or GF, whichever we are calling her today, is the one (according to the OP) who signed the kids up for AllKids. Who knows what information she gave them? She could very well have listed herself as the mother or in the "mother" slot as she is the CLW=common law stepparent.

Even though a few particulars in my initial post are different that I 'assumed" the core of my initial post remains true. This appears to be fueled by jealousy and anger.

Much time has been spent looking for ways to hurt the CLW-GF and the physician's office. Little effort has been spent updating the children's benefit plans: notifying BCBS of the AllKids insurance; notifying AllKids of the correct information (AllKids may not be able to talk to the OP, but they surely can read a letter and accept copies of the BCBS insurance cards); updating MD records with allergy information (again, if they won't talk to the OP, they will certainly accept another MD's or pharmacy's records of allergies).

The whole focus of this thread and the one in the family law section is control of the children's father and his CLW-GF.

This battle will rage until someone calls off the war.

[1confusedmom]

Originally Posted by lya

If I read and understood correctly, the insurance card in question is that of the child's father and the OP has no right to interact with AllKids.

AllKids is secondary to BCBS and someone needs to straighten that out.

CLW or GF, whichever we are calling her today, is the one (according to the OP) who signed the kids up for AllKids. Who knows what information she gave them? She could very well have listed herself as the mother or in the "mother" slot as she is the CLW=common law stepparent.

Even though a few particulars in my initial post are different that I 'assumed" the core of my initial post remains true. This appears to be fueled by jealousy and anger.

Much time has been spent looking for ways to hurt the CLW-GF and the physician's office. Little effort has been spent updating the children's benefit plans: notifying BCBS of the AllKids insurance; notifying AllKids of the correct information (AllKids may not be able to talk to the OP, but they surely can read a letter and accept copies of the BCBS insurance cards); updating MD records with allergy information (again, if they won't talk to the OP, they will certainly accept another MD's or pharmacy's records of allergies).

The whole focus of this thread and the one in the family law section is control of the children's father and his CLW-GF.

This battle will rage until someone calls off the war.

Seriously, what do I have to be jealous of? Am I angry, yes, of course I am. AllKids is not ONLY secondary ins. EH is not insured by AllKids. It is a little to no cost insurance for families with little to no income. How am I to update the information on their insurance when Allkids reps will not talk to me? Wouldn't that be up to the person who filed the claim in the first place? That would not be me.

I have never once said anything bad about the CLW in here, any other posts, nor to her, my children, or anyone that has any dealings with her. I have only stated the facts. All of which are documented.

You seem to be contradicting yourself. First you say that I have no right to interact with AllKids, then you say that I need to update their info.... which is it?

If I don't have a right to interact with them, how am I to update their info? In fact, the only thing that needs to be updated is the name of their mother.

I did call and ask them about sending them the info and they rejected it.
The children are not on any other insurance plans. Therefor copies of other ins cards are not needed.

My child's reg pedi knows that she is allergic and all that info is in her file there. They know this because the dr.s in that ofc were the ones to see her on the hospital when she and my son were born and they have been their dr.s for the last 7 years. So that ofc is well aware of any and all info reagarding my children. However she was not taken to her reg. pedi. She was taking to one of those walk in clinics. This was because CLW knows that only the LEGAL parents of my children can bring them in. I was informed of this by the pedi.'s ofc and a note was made in the files and they have both the names that CLW uses. The clinic did not have any info on her because she has always been seen at her reg. pedis ofc or the ED.

Having LEGAL joint custody gives me EVERY right to have access to any and all medical information that pertains to my child. It is all in black and white in my custody papers. However, AllKids will not talk to me because my name is not listed on the org. claim for coverage. At the request of EH and CLW.

In my state, Stepparents, much less CL SPs, and GFs of CP, have NO RIGHTS whatsoever. I have spoken to several attrnys about that.

First off, who the hell are you to say that all my energy is going towards hurting anyone?
Nothing in my posts say anything about hurting anyone in anyway. I am only looking for ways to protect my children and whether you believe it to be true or not, I do have their best interests in mind. My children are my world and let me tell you another thing, if I were jealous for any reason, I would certainly not be on here talking to strangers about it. I am assuming that you believe that I am JEALOUS that my EH is with this woman and that it bothers me to see them together. WRONG! Just like I told EH and CLW when it was brought up by them.... I didn't want EH when I had him, Thats why I left him.

I am very happily married to the man of my dreams and if seeing my EH was an issue for me, I would have had a problem with the many other women he has dated. I could seriously care less if he were to be seeing 100 women, his personal like is of no concern to me.

CLW is insecure and she feels that if she acts like mommy to EH's kids then he will see what a wonderful person she is and keep her around. Ok. I don't care if they get married and live a happy wonderfully fulfilled life together. I have what I want and it's not EH. He's an ex for a reason and the choice was mine.

The only time that I have spent regarding the Dr.s ofc is when I called to see if in fact my children were taken in, and when I politely took my papers down there for them to make a copy of. I never once made any demands for anything. I asked about my child's care and what were the regulations and guidelines as it applies to my situation. In fact other than when I told them that "this person is protraying herself to be the mother of my child when in fact she is not, what can be done about this." They really don't know any details.

So I don't see how I am spending so much time hurting the dr.s ofc. My children's files with their reg. pedi are up to date and have all the correct information, so I don't need to update anything. But I can't update files if I don't know where and when the children are taken to another dr.

I don't have anything personally against the dr.s ofc. I am not trying to control anything but the well being of my children. You don't know me personally and you only know what you read, so I don't see how you justify me trying to control anything.

If I were getting in the middle of EH and CLW's relationship or calling the cops every time I thought she was giving me dirty looks, if I were trying to break them up, If I were trying to keep the kids from him, if I were spreading rumors and lies about them, I could see how I was trying to control them. I am not doing any of that nor will I ever.

I am simply trying to figure out what I can do. If there is nothing that can be done, then fine. At least I did ask and know that in fact there isn't anything I can do. But I don't know that unless I ask. So again, I ask can we please stick the topic at hand here? If you would like to discuss my parenting and the issues concerning EH and CLW, I would be more than happy to meet you in my family law thread.

[1confusedmom]

Yes, I have filed a police report against CLW for protraying herself to be the legal gaurdian and signing legal documents.

She also did this when she enrolled my 4 y.o. in a special needs school for speech therapy.
(with out my knowledge, and without any signatures from me or EH)
But this thread is not about that...

However , and I don't see how, they said there was no criminal actions and that it would be classified only as suspecious activity.

Yes, I do have a copy of the medical form that CLW filled out and signed asking for known allergies. She checked "no". I have a copy of that and so does my attrny and the police station.

I also sent a copy with a letter to EH. But thats another issue that was addressed in my post in family law.

[ecmst12]

Actualy, stepmom is perfectly free to schedule an appointment for the kids at their regular doctor's office, and take them to that appointment. She just wouldn't actually be able to get any medical information about them. And honestly, if she's going to be the primary caregiver for them for any periods of time (like when dad is at work maybe?), you should put something on file at their regular doctor's office giving her PERMISSION to bring them in, and receive the necessary information about them, if they are sick or hurt and she's the only one available to take them. Then she won't have to go to any walk in clinic where they're not aware of who the bio parents are or what the kids' history and allergies are.

[wnbama]

Originally Posted by ecmst12

Actualy, stepmom is perfectly free to schedule an appointment for the kids at their regular doctor's office, and take them to that appointment. She just wouldn't actually be able to get any medical information about them. And honestly, if she's going to be the primary caregiver for them for any periods of time (like when dad is at work maybe?), you should put something on file at their regular doctor's office giving her PERMISSION to bring them in, and receive the necessary information about them, if they are sick or hurt and she's the only one available to take them. Then she won't have to go to any walk in clinic where they're not aware of who the bio parents are or what the kids' history and allergies are.

You have got to be kidding me!!! If Dad is not avail then MOM should be called, so she can take THEIR children to the doctor! Now at that point MOM could say she can't do it or is busy or whatever and say can CLW/GF do it? if she CHOSE to do that! Dad and clw/gf KNOWS where the reg pedi is located, am I correct, OP?

However, ALLkids should be aware of the law in Alabama about records:
[url=http://law.justia.com/alabama/codes/22063/30-3-154.html]Section 30-3-154 — Availability of records to both parents. - Alabama Section 30-3-154 — Availability of records to both parents. - Alabama Code :: Justia[/url]
Section 30-3-154 — Availability of records to both parents.
Unless otherwise prohibited by court order or statute, all records and information pertaining to the child, including, but not limited to, medical, physiological, dental, scholastic, athletic, extracurricular, and law enforcement, shall be equally available to both parents, in all types of custody arrangements.

I would suggest you print a copy of the code from the above web site, write ALLkids a letter and also put a copy of your custody papers in there and mail it or take it to the nearest location.

(Acts 1996, No. 96-520, p. 666, §5.)

[ecmst12]

So you're saying that if the kid has a medical emergency (or even just gets sick and needs to go to the doctor) while in dad's custody, and dad is not able to take them to the doctor, but stepmom is, they should waste time calling mom to take the kid to the doctor rather then let stepmom do it right then? How is that in the CHILD'S BEST INTEREST?

IMO, mom needs to learn to put her disdain for stepmom aside because that's what's best for the kids. If stepmom watches the kids and needs to take them to the doctor, both parents should OK that. Mom can ask to be INFORMED when she does it, and mom can get copies of the records for herself, but everyone involved here needs to be less selfish. Stepmom wouldn't have to represent herself as the mom if the bio mom was more willing to include her. She has no legal rights but you should GRANT her rights because that's the best way to ensure that your kids get the care they need from the doctors who know them! This is where mom's pride is showing itself and making life hard for the innocent bystanders - the kids.