It's mostly an annoyance. Most medical professionals agree that HIPPA is not sufficient to protect patient privacy, and most physicians and hospitals have an ethical code that is above and beyond that specified by HIPPA. Rather, the law imposes unnecessary bureaucratic overhead on the medical system.
"Authorization" under HIPAA customarily refers to the PATIENT'S or the patient's designated Power Of Attorney (or court appointed Guardian) to sign authority to release their medical records to parties outside of their caregiver's practice.
All medical records are treated the same under HIPAA, without regard to the form the record is kept in: Paper, Electronic, Mixed Media, X-Rays, etc. HIPAA applies to electronic medical records as much as it does to paper records. The patient still needs to sign a release for information to be transferred to other providers.
Yes. And additionally, since psychiatrists are medical doctors their practice of medicine falls under the guidelines and regulation of HIPAA.
Yes, under HIPAA, patients have the right to review and obtain copies of their medical records.
HIPAA is based on the concept that your medical condition is a private matter and that your medical records should be protected from people without specific authorization.
yes
yes
Yes, as long as the release of these records conforms with HIPAA regarding acceptable disclosures. One in the medical chart, they are part of the medical chart.
should not affect access by patient- in fact, it tends to confirm for providers that patients records ARE theirs for review
should not affect access by patient- in fact, it tends to confirm for providers that patients records ARE theirs for review
yes
How HIPAA has affected the use of telephone in the medical office