Question

5. How far should an individual's right to medical privacy extend?

6. Describe the differences between the designated record set and the legal health record.

7. List the five HIPAA-identified individual rights. For each, explain whether a covered entity must comply with the request.

Answer 1

5. Medical privacy is otherwise known as health privacy. IT has been practised to maintain the security and confidentiality of patient records and includes the conversational discretion of health care providers, the confidentiality of medical records and the physical privacy of patients from other patients and providers while in a healthcare setting. The degree of disclosure of information to the insurance companies, employers, and other third parties is also included in the Medical privacy. The widespread use of electronic health records (EHR) has also widened the scope of medical privacy. The duplication of services and medical errors can be evaluated and tracked by the medical privacy policy. Medical privacy ensures that the medical information regarding a patient may not be shared with the third party without his consent.

The medical privacy rights:

To be informed about the use of personal health information

Right to set the limit to the accessibility of personal health information

Right to know about sharing the personal health information

Right to restrict the facilities of new drugs or medical services

Right to clarify and correct the medical records

Right to file a complaint about breach of privacy

6.

Legal Health Record

The legal health record is the documentary evidence of all the healthcare services provided to an individual during different aspects of healthcare delivery in different types of healthcare organizations. It can be maintained in paper-based or electronic systems. The legal health record is mainly used as evidence in the case of disputes. The discoverability of information held by the organization may not be affected by it.

The legal health record should support the patient care decisions and the healthcare expenses sort from the third party payers. The documentation of all health care aspects and events will act as a legal testimony regarding the patient's illness or injury, response to treatment, and caregiver decisions. It also has a legal value. The legal health record generally includes the information utilized by the healthcare team to decide upon the treatment of a patient.

Designated Record

A designated record is a group of documentation, include patient medical and billing records, patient enrollment, payment details, claims, and cases or medical management record systems maintained for a health plan which may help to take care related decisions. The designated record set also contains clinical data such as WAVE files, images (e.g., x-rays), and billing information. The designated record contains all the protected health information and it is wider than the legal health record. The designated record is a compilation of protected health information and business.

7. HIPPA ensure several patient rights

a. Right to Notice of Privacy Practices

The patients have the right to be informed of the uses and sharing of their PHR, developed by the Covered Component, and of their rights responsibilities under HIPAA. Every covered component is required to have a Notice of Privacy Practices (“NPP”) approved by the BU HIPAA Privacy Officer and must include a notice of the Covered Component’s records retention and destruction policy for its medical records. NPP must be accessible to the patients like websites or notices. The Workforce member who offered the NPP shall document that s/he offered it, and that the Individual declined to sign if the individual declines to sign the acknowledgement for any reason and it shall be placed in the Individual’s medical record.

b. Right to Access and Copy Own Health Record

Individuals have the right to access, examine and copy their health record Covered Component’s Designated Record Set. The exceptions are

-              When the requested records are not a part of the Designated Record Set

-              If the individual is an inmate of the penal institution

-              Clinical research project consents and the requested information is restricted during the course of the research.

-              The requested information was obtained from someone other than a healthcare provider under a promise of confidentiality (like the family member)

Use of Authorization Form or a written request is not legally mandatory in order to provide copies of the Designated Record Set to the individual. But it allows the Covered Component to ensure that providing what the individual wishes to have, and is doing so in a timely manner.

c. Right to Request Amendment

An individual has the right to ask for an update or amendment of PHR. After receiving a Request to Amend, the Covered Component’s HIPAA Contact shall review it and may make the correction accordingly.

D. Right to an Accounting of Disclosures

Individuals have the right to request an Accounting of disclosures of their health information and the Covered Components should contact the HIPAA Privacy Officer in such case.

e. Right to Request Restriction

Right to request a restriction on the usage and disclosure of the PHRs is supported by HIPPA.   Individuals can request the Covered Component not to share information with a family member or friend of the Individual. The Covered Component should consider all reasonable requests but may not agree to a restriction if it is not feasible to comply with it.