HIIM Legal aspects of Healthcare Release of information assignment The activity:
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.
Questions:
1. Is Ms. Green correct that a release of information authorization is already on file with the General Hospital for Emily Carey? If so, where is it located?
2. What other patient identifier(s) would you request to ensure you are referencing the correct EHR prior to releasing any information?
3. According to the ROI authorization, the patient is authorizing the following items to be released: "X-Ray Reports, Progress Notes, History/Physical Exam." a. How many of the notes under the Notes tab in Emily’s EHR would you release? b. Which notes in Emily’s EHR would you release? List the Note Title and Author. If the same author documented a note with the same title more than once, indicate how many of each note for that author would be released.
4. If Ms. Green requested that all of Emily Carey’s orders, including medications, be released to her, would you release that information?
5. If Ms. Green requested the release of all Progress Notes from a previous hospitalization for COPD five years ago, would you release that information?
6. What is an "accounting of disclosures" as it pertains to the release of protected patient health information?
7. Is the patient requesting an accounting of disclosures in her authorization form?
8. What is the difference between a release of information authorization and an accounting of disclosures?
9. If the patient requested an accounting of disclosures, would the General Hospital be required to include the disclosure to Green & Green Law Firm in the accounting? Why or why not?
10. 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?