Your Personal Health Information is Protected - Getting Proper Releases Can Help Take Care of Older Adults

Navigating the medical world as a caregiver or patient can be difficult, especially regarding personal health information. Several federal and some state laws establish protections, so your private health information and other information in your health records are protected from unauthorized disclosure. 

Helping older family members can be more difficult unless they have signed the proper releases. Signing these before someone's health declines will make it easier for loved ones to navigate their health care.

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 provided protections and mandated the so-called "Privacy Rule." The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued the Privacy Rule in December 2000 to carry out HIPAA's mandate that HHS establish federal standards for safeguarding the privacy of individually identifiable health information.

The Privacy Rule establishes, for the first time, a foundation of Federal protections for the privacy of protected health information. The rule does not replace any other federal or state law that grants individuals even greater privacy protections, and covered entities are free to retain or adopt more protective policies or practices.

The Security Rule is a federal law that requires security for health information in electronic form. HHS says it this way:

The Privacy Rule, a federal law, gives you rights over your health information and sets rules and limits on who can look at and receive your health information. The Privacy Rule applies to all forms of individuals' protected health information, whether electronic, written, or oral. 

HIPAA and Health Information

If you or a loved one has ever needed long-term care, you've probably had to deal with HIPAA. HIPAA governs protected health information (PHI). HIPAA can make navigating caregiving situations a little complex at times, and it may make you wonder why personal health information is protected.

Dr. Yasir Al-Khalili, MD, and Dr. Yasir Al-Khalili say that protected health information can sometimes identify an individual, and it is important to protect that information.

It is imperative that protected health information remains confidential because disclosing it to unauthorized recipients, whether intentionally or by accident, can have harmful consequences for patients.

What is Personal Health Information (PHI)?

PHI includes individually identifiable information about an individual's health in all written, digital, and oral formats. It doesn't matter if that information stays in a folder in a doctor's office or if it's an oral report your nurse gives you after surgery.

Protected information is more than just information about someone's health. It also includes billing information and any information that could be used to identify an individual that may appear in records. 

Permitted Disclosures Under HIPAA

The law's goal is to ensure that an individual's health information is appropriately protected while allowing the flow of health information needed to provide and promote high-quality health care and to protect the public's health and well-being.

These permitted disclosures include:

• To the individual

• Treatment, payment, and health care operations

• Public interest and benefit activities like law enforcement purposes or a serious threat to health and safety

Any individual can approve disclosure for any reason. For example, when applying for Long-Term Care Insurance or life insurance, the applicant will often sign a medical record release.

There are also other allowed disclosures, for example:

• A surgeon who did emergency surgery on you may tell your spouse about your condition, either in person or by phone, while you are unconscious.

• A pharmacist may give your prescription to a friend or family member you send to pick it up.

• A doctor may discuss your drugs with your caregiver, who calls your doctor with a question about the correct dosage.

HOWEVER:

• A nurse may not tell your friend or family about a past medical problem that is unrelated to your current condition - UNLESS you have signed a release allowing them that access.

Privacy from Family and Friends 

In some situations, individuals may not want their friends and relatives who visit them to know exactly what's going on with their health. It could be embarrassing or considered controversial, and the point is that the patient should be able to choose if and when they share that information.

Requiring patient permission to disclose information also protects you from having anyone obtain your medical records by pretending to be a family member or close friend. In other words, knowing a person's name and basic information would not be a reason for disclosure. 

Privacy From Research

Imagine if research institutions could access everyone's medical data without their permission. While it might speed up the process of curing certain diseases and conditions, it could also fuel for-profit research using your health records. An individual must give informed consent to participate in research studies that allow accessing medical records.

There are situations where your information may be released without permission as long as all your identifiable information is removed. 

Protecting Your Health Information

The above reasons are just a few of the situations that make it important to protect personal health information. It's why, for example, doctors and nurses must correctly label patient files and limit what information they put on the outside. It's also why you have to sign a HIPAA authorization form to let a caregiver have access to your medical information.

Your Access to Your Health Information

Generally speaking, your health information is yours. HHH says that The Privacy Rule gives you, with few exceptions, the right to inspect, review, and receive a copy of your medical records and billing records that are held by health plans and health care providers covered by the Privacy Rule.

Only you or your personal representative has the right to access your records. Providers can provide copies of your information to help provide your treatment or, as necessary, receive payment from insurance without additional permissions.

HIPAA gives individuals important rights to access their medical records - PDF and to keep your information private. However, a provider can charge you to provide those records. The provider cannot charge you a fee for searching for or retrieving your records. The law says "reasonable costs for copying and mailing the records" are allowed.

Can the Government Get My Private Health Information

The answer is - maybe. Your medical records and your protected health information can be shared if a court order is issued by a judge. However, the provider or plan may only disclose the information described in the court order. 

Even though HIPAA can be difficult to navigate at times, it's there to protect you and your loved ones from abuse and neglect. HIPAA makes sure that only the people who need to know your medical information are the ones who have access to it.