Confident Teen

Goals


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Improve adolescent experiences in healthcare settings.

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Improve adolescent access to sexual and reproductive health and mental health services in primary care settings.

Confident Teen is a clinic-based program designed for primary- and specialty-care clinics serving adolescent patients (ages 12 and older). It uses a clinic policy and workflow to ensure adolescent patients: 1) have one-on-one time with their healthcare provider, 2) are informed of patient-provider confidentiality, and 3) can discuss sensitive topics with their provider in privacy. 

Watch the video below to see the patient experience when clinics implement Confident Teen!

Program Benefits


Provide a stepping stone for privacy

Foster independence for teens

Allow adolescents the opportunity to advocate for their own health

Key Steps to Implement Confident Teen


(1) Establish Clinic Policy

Your clinic will adopt a clinic policy ensuring adolescent patients (ages 12+) are offered confidential time with providers. A template for the policy is provided in the program package, along with materials to communicate the policy to patients, families, and other community stakeholders. 

(2) Map + Modify Clinic Workflow

Your organization will map out a new clinic workflow for patient visits to ensure one-on-one time with providers [is offered] during all visits. 

During the one-on-one time, providers must: 

  • Define patient-provider confidentiality
  • Allow time for the patients to ask questions or discuss concerns

(3) Update the EMR/EHR

Two questions should be added to the EMR/EHR to track if confidential time was offered, and if confidentiality was defined/discussed. 

The program package and onboarding process provides you with all resources and tools needed to adopt and sustain the principles of Confident Teen, ensuring confidential time becomes standard practice for adolescent appointments. Our team will walk you through the process to ensure your success!

Questions?


For more information, contact: 

Christi Esquivel | Project Director 

c.esquivel@tamu.edu

For organizations currently implementing Confident Teen, click here to login to your account and access program materials electronically.