HHS Clarifies Patient Rights to Medical Records

The government Jan. 7 released guidanceclarifying patients’ rights to access their medical records under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act’s Privacy Rule, including what records an individual is entitled to and what can be excluded from a patient request.

Patients have the right to access a designated record set that includes medical and billing records, plan enrollment information and payment and claims adjudication data, according to the guidance from the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights.

However, the OCR said in the guidance that psychotherapy notes and any information concerning potential civil or criminal ...