Start with the access you want to grant
An authorization is most useful when it answers a practical question: who should be able to speak with your healthcare providers, and what information should that person be able to receive? Consider naming the intended recipient or recipients, describing the information to be shared, and choosing a duration that fits your needs.
Compare a broader authorization with a narrower one. Broader access may be more convenient when a trusted person needs information from multiple providers or about different aspects of care. A limited authorization can better match a specific purpose or recipient. The right scope depends on what you want shared; avoid treating a standard form as a substitute for making that choice.
- Recipients: identify the people you want to receive information.
- Scope: consider whether access should cover a broad range of information or a defined subject or purpose.
- Duration: decide how long the permission should remain useful for your situation.
Keep information access separate from decision-making
Permission to receive health information does not, on its own, appoint someone to make healthcare decisions for you. Healthcare decision-making authority and HIPAA personal-representative status are separate questions. Under federal HIPAA guidance, state-law authority to make healthcare decisions can make someone a personal representative; an information-sharing authorization alone does not do that.
A Tennessee Advance Directive for Health Care addresses an agent or alternate and healthcare preferences, and includes instructions about signing and sharing copies. It serves a different purpose from an authorization focused on information access. Consider each document for the role it is intended to address, rather than assuming one grants every kind of authority.
Prepare a one-page sharing plan
Before drafting or updating documents, make a short list that can guide the conversation: the people you want involved, the information each person should receive, and the period for which access should apply. Add any limits or practical circumstances that matter to you, such as whether a recipient needs information only for a particular purpose.
Bring that plan alongside any existing HIPAA authorization and healthcare directive. Check whether the people, scope, and duration in the current paperwork still match your wishes. If you have named an agent or alternate in a directive, note that role separately from anyone you want to receive information.
Questions to resolve before signing
Ask whether the authorization covers the recipients and information you intend, whether its duration fits your purpose, and how it relates to any healthcare directive or other decision-making document. Also ask how copies should be shared with the people and providers who need them, following the applicable document instructions.
Dale Law Group, PLLC offers HIPAA authorization planning as part of its Tennessee estate-planning services. The firm serves Tennessee and its office is in Murfreesboro; Bulls Gap is in Hawkins County. For a conversation about your documents, contact the firm using the contact options on this page.
Questions to bring to the discussion
Does a HIPAA authorization make someone my healthcare decision-maker?
No. An information-sharing authorization alone does not appoint a healthcare decision-maker. Healthcare authority under state law may affect whether someone is a HIPAA personal representative, so distinguish that role from permission to receive information.
Should I authorize access to all health information?
That depends on whom you want involved and why. Compare broad access with a narrower authorization by considering the recipient, the information or purpose, and the duration you want.
Discuss your next step with Dale Law Group
Begin with a brief, non-confidential overview. The firm will discuss your needs and appointment arrangements.
General information, not advice for a particular situation. Sending an inquiry does not create an attorney-client relationship.
