HIPAA Authorizations in Jellico

Choose access separately from decision-making authority

A person you want kept informed may not be the person you want making healthcare decisions. A HIPAA authorization is for sharing information. Under federal guidance, state-law authority can make someone a HIPAA personal representative; a separate authorization alone does not appoint a healthcare decision-maker. An agent under a healthcare power of attorney or advance directive therefore has a different role from someone named only to receive information.

Make a short list of each person’s intended role before preparing documents. If you want someone to receive information and also make decisions when authorized, identify both goals rather than assuming one document automatically accomplishes both.

Compare recipient, scope, and duration

For each proposed recipient, decide which information should be shared and how long the authorization should apply. A narrow choice might identify one person and a defined category of information; a broader choice might cover more information or recipients. Consider whether access should be limited to a particular situation or continue for a period you specify.

There is no need to make every recipient’s access identical. Compare the practical benefit of easier information-sharing with your preference for limiting who receives information and when. Have the document’s wording checked against the decisions you intend it to reflect.

• Recipient: who should be able to receive information?
• Scope: what information should that person be able to access?
• Duration: how long should the authorization apply?
• Decision-making: is separate healthcare authority also needed?

Prepare a one-page access plan

Before a planning conversation, write down the names and contact details of proposed recipients, the information each person should receive, and the intended duration or ending point. Add a separate note identifying anyone you want to serve as a healthcare agent or alternate and the healthcare preferences you want documented.

Use this as a comparison sheet, not as a substitute for the documents. Tennessee’s Advance Directive for Health Care form addresses an agent or alternate and healthcare preferences, and includes instructions about signing the document and sharing copies. Do not assume an information-sharing authorization replaces that directive or establishes the same authority.

Questions to resolve before documents are prepared

Bring any existing healthcare power of attorney, advance directive, or HIPAA authorization so the intended roles and access can be considered together. Ask whether the proposed recipient is meant only to receive information, whether that person is also named as a healthcare agent, and whether the scope and duration match your wishes.

Dale Law Group, PLLC, offers HIPAA authorization planning as part of its estate-planning services. The firm serves Tennessee; its listed office is in Murfreesboro, not Jellico. Contact the firm to discuss your goals and the documents you want reviewed.

• Does each named person have a clearly defined information-access role?
• Does the authorization cover only the information and period I intend?
• Are my healthcare agent, alternate, and preferences addressed separately where needed?
• What existing documents should be coordinated with the authorization?