Who should have written permission to receive a loved one's medical and financial information?

At least one family member should have written permission to receive medical and financial information about the person with cancer. This is especially important for long-distance caregivers, who may need to get updates or make decisions without being able to show up in person right away.

Without this written permission in place ahead of time, family members can run into frustrating delays when they need information quickly, since health care providers and financial institutions generally can't share details without proper authorization.

This is one piece of a broader effort to keep important paperwork organized: gathering health care documents, advance directives, and financial and legal records, and keeping all of this vital information together in one place, such as a notebook or a shared secure document. Doing this early — before a crisis moment — makes it much easier for whoever needs the information to access it quickly when it matters most.

If you're not sure how to set this up, ask the health care team or a hospital social worker what forms or authorizations are needed.