Health Information Management

Q&A: Release of information authorization forms

HIM Connection, October 18, 2011

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Q: A patient signed an authorization form in February permitting release of personal health information (PHI) to the patient's attorney. The patient's attorney requested a copy of the patient's medical records in August. Must the covered entity obtain another signed authorization form from the patient?

A: A valid authorization form must include an expiration date or event. The covered entity must obtain another authorization form from the patient if the patient did not specify an end date or event when signing the authorization form in February because failure to include this information would render the authorization invalid. The original signed authorization is still valid if it includes an end date or event that has not passed unless the patient has revoked authorization.
 
Editor’s note: Chris Apgar, CISSP, president of Apgar & Associates, LLC, in Portland, OR, answered the previous question in the October issue of Briefings on HIPAA.



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