Optometry Coding & Billing Alert

Q: After a patient signs an authorization form for the release of protected health information, are we required to give her a copy of the signed authorization form?

New York Subscriber

A: The HIPAA privacy regulations do entitle the patient to receive a copy of the signed authorization form, says attorney Stephen Bernstein with McDermott Will & Emery in Boston.
 
Under HIPAA's authorization provisions, the regs state that "if a covered entity seeks an authorization from an individual for a use or disclosure of protected health information, the covered entity must provide the individual with a copy of the signed authorization."
 
Bernstein recommends that "it would be a good idea to have a kind of multicarbon form" for your patient authorizations so that you can easily give your patients a copy of the form right after they've signed it.