Question

You are a Health Information Technician in a HIM department at General Hospital. One of your primary responsibilities is to process release of information and accounting of disclosures requests made by patients and other parties. Ms. Gabby Green from Green & Green Law Office called and requested portions of the medical record of her client, Emily Carey, for upcoming litigation. Per General Hospital policy, you ask for the authorization from the patient to release her PHI (protected health information). Ms. Green states that the patient already has one on file with the facility.

If Emily Carey requested an accounting of disclosures from General Hospital for the first time, what charge could the General Hospital assess her for this accounting?

Answer 1

Under HIPAA, patients are entitled to one free accounting of disclosures per 12-month period. For any subsequent requests, General Hospital may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee. The hospital must balance privacy rights, legal obligations, and quality of life while ensuring charges are fair and reflect the actual cost of the service.

Step-by-step explanation:

Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), patients have the right to an accounting of disclosures of their protected health information (PHI). When Emily Carey requests an accounting of disclosures, General Hospital can provide her first request within a 12-month period for free according to HIPAA regulations. If the hospital has previously provided an accounting of disclosures to Emily within the 12-month period, they may impose a reasonable, cost-based fee for any subsequent requests.

HIPAA ensures that patients' privacy rights are upheld while also acknowledging legal obligations that might require disclosing PHI for certain purposes, such as litigation, as requested by Ms. Gabby Green from Green & Green Law Office. However, such disclosures must generally be accompanied by either a patient's consent in the form of an authorization or a valid court order or subpoena, safeguarding against unnecessary breaches of privacy.

In developing policies around patient privacy and information disclosure, key questions include how the entity will balance privacy rights and legal obligations, the impacts on patient quality of life, and the methods used to minimize any potential privacy breaches. The specific charge General Hospital could assess, if applicable, would depend on their own cost structure for processing such requests after the first free one. However, this cost must be reasonable and based on the actual cost of producing the accounting.