HIPAA Authorizations in Normandy

Decide what access you want to grant

Before preparing an authorization, consider the practical question it should answer: who should be able to receive your health information, and for what purpose? You may want to consider whether access should cover information broadly or be limited to particular information or circumstances, and whether the permission should apply for a defined period or continue until changed. The document’s scope and duration should reflect your intentions.

Make a short list of the people you are considering and what each person needs to know. If several people are named, clarify whether each should have access independently or whether your plan is intended to work differently. Ask how the proposed authorization handles changes in your relationships or preferences.

• People you want to be able to receive information
• The information or circumstances you want the authorization to cover
• How long you intend the permission to remain in effect

Separate information access from healthcare authority

A HIPAA authorization permits information sharing; by itself, it does not appoint someone to make healthcare decisions. A healthcare power of attorney or advance healthcare directive addresses a different planning question: who may act as your healthcare decision-maker and what preferences you want reflected in that plan.

State-law healthcare authority can make someone a HIPAA personal representative. As a result, a separate information-sharing authorization is not automatically required for every person with healthcare authority. The documents should be considered together, with their different purposes kept clear. An agent under a financial power of attorney, a trustee, or another fiduciary role should not be assumed to have healthcare authority merely because of that role.

• Information access: who may receive health information
• Healthcare authority: who may make decisions under applicable authority
• Financial or trust authority: a separate role with its own scope

Prepare a practical review checklist

Bring or make a list of any existing healthcare power of attorney, advance healthcare directive, or HIPAA authorization, along with the names and contact information of the people you are considering. Note any limits you want to discuss, such as access for a particular purpose, access to specified information, or a preferred duration. If you have changed your mind about a named person, flag that clearly.

Tennessee’s Advance Directive for Health Care form addresses an agent or alternate and healthcare preferences, and includes instructions about signing and sharing copies. Consider how your information-sharing choices should coordinate with your healthcare documents; do not assume one document answers every question.

• Current healthcare planning documents, if any
• Proposed recipients and the reason each needs access
• Questions about scope, duration, and consistency with your healthcare plan

Discuss the plan with Dale Law Group

Dale Law Group, PLLC offers HIPAA authorization planning as part of its estate-planning services. The firm’s office is in Murfreesboro and it serves clients across Tennessee; this page does not imply a Normandy office. For a discussion, ask how an authorization can reflect your intended recipients and limits, and how it should relate to your healthcare power of attorney or advance directive.

Useful questions include: Who should be able to receive information, and what should each person be able to access? How should the authorization’s duration and limits be expressed? Does my current healthcare document already give someone authority that affects information access? What should I review if I later want to change my recipients or preferences?