Release of medical records of deceased patient

How to get copies of your medical records? What is an electronic medical record? See our key legislation factsheet for more detail. If you wish to access a medical record for someone who is deceased , you need to submit an ‘ Access to Health Record ’ request.

Please note: Practices remain legally responsible for copies of records retained on local systems.

Determining appropriate release of a deceased patient ’s medical records can be complex. HIPAA, sometimes blamed for denied requests, is rarely cause for a roadblock , however. The federal law does extend a person’s privacy rights into death , but it also explicitly requires facilities to release records to authorized individuals. An often-overlooked area is the release of deceased patients ’ records.

While HIPAA sets the federal minimum requirement for privacy, state regulations can be more stringent when it comes to releasing protected health information (PHI). However, this does not mean that a physician must retain a deceased patient ’s medical records for years. Medical records must be retained in accordance with physician licensing board retention requirements.

Regarding deceased patient records, CFR §2. It requires the facility to release records to a personal representative, such as an executor, administrator, or other person appointed under state law. Thus, for example, a HIPAA covered entity that maintains health or medical records , correspondence files, physician diaries and casebooks, or photograph collections that contain identifiable health information on individuals who have been deceased for more than years may use or disclose the information without regard to the Privacy Rule because the information is not considered protected health information.

This only applies to. A person’s right to privacy under HIPAA extends until years after their death. However, sometimes relatives need access to the deceased person’s medical records.

The information contained in these records may be useful when it comes to predicting what sorts of hereditary ailments the patient and their doctor need to be aware of. A deceased person’s medical and social care records are likely to contain information about other individuals, such as NHS and social services staff. On occasions, information about relatives of the deceased may also be included in such records.

Only certain people are allowed to request medical records. Those people are relatives of the deceased , or certain representatives of those relatives. Requests may be needed for various reasons including autopsy of the deceased or medical history for other family members. Practices and other healthcare organisations have an ongoing duty of confidentiality to patients, even after death. Consider other requests on a case-by-case basis.

The executor of the patient’s estate is a “personal representative” and may sign the authorization as well as be substituted for the deceased patient for the purpose of notice or qualified protective orders.

The patient may also sign a HIPAA release prior to death that designates an individual to have access to their PHI. Doctors may question if they are permitted to release medical records or other confidential information provided by a patient who subsequently dies. Access to the medical records of a deceased patient can generally be provided to the executor of the will, or the administrator.

In ACT and Victoria, general access to the medical records should only be given to the executor or administrator of the estate upon receipt of a written request accompanied by the grant of probate or court appointment of the administrator. When the patient dies, the person who is responsible for administering the estate – such as the executor – becomes the “substitute decision maker. Keep the medical records of your deceased patient secure and for at least seven years from the date of the last entry in their record. The executor or administrator of the deceased patient’s estate has a right to access their medical records and is the correct person to provide authority for another person to access the records. Solicitors may request a copy of a patient’s medical records in relation to a claim.

If the solicitor is acting for the patient, you should not release the records without the patient’s (or a legally recognised proxy’s) consent. A person with parental responsibility will usually be entitled to access the records of a child who is aged or younger. Children aged or older are usually considered to have the capacity to give or refuse consent to parents requesting access to their health records , unless there is a reason to suggest otherwise.