Health Information Management

OCR adds new authorization FAQs

HIPAA Weekly Advisor, October 3, 2003

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Covered entities can use a transmittal or cover letter to narrow or provide specifics about a request for PHI as described in an authorization, but the letter cannot expand the scope of the authorization, according to a frequently asked question (FAQ) recently posted on the Office for Civil Rights' (OCR) Web site. OCR posted nine new FAQs on authorizations, including the following:

  • May a covered entity use or disclose an entire medical record based on the patient's signed authorization?
  • Must an authorization include an expiration date?
  • Is a copy, facsimile, or electronically transmitted version of a signed authorization valid under the privacy rule?
  • May an authorization form be prepared by a third party?
  • May an authorization apply to protected health information created after the authorization was signed?
  • Does the privacy rule require that an authorization be notarized or include a witness signature?
  • May a valid authorization list categories of persons who may use or disclose PHI?
  • Can an authorization be used together with other written instructions?
  • Can an individual revoke his or her authorization?

    Go to http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa/ and look under "What's New in Privacy" to read the FAQs.



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