HIPAA Authorizations in White House

Decide what access should accomplish

Start with the practical purpose. You may want a trusted person to receive information for care coordination, or you may want someone to have a limited role in a particular situation. Those goals can call for different recipients, scopes and durations.

Consider whether access should cover a broad range of health information or be limited to information relevant to a particular purpose. Also decide whether the authorization should remain in place for a defined period or continue until changed or revoked, as permitted by the document and applicable rules. Avoid granting broader access than you intend.

Separate information access from healthcare authority

A HIPAA authorization addresses disclosure of health information; by itself, it does not appoint someone to make healthcare decisions. A healthcare power of attorney or advance healthcare directive addresses a different role. Under HIPAA, a person with healthcare authority under applicable state law may qualify as a personal representative, so do not assume that an agent always needs a separate HIPAA authorization.

Keep the roles clear in your planning: the person who receives information need not be the person you select to make healthcare decisions. A financial power of attorney is another distinct role and does not automatically establish healthcare authority.

Prepare a recipient-and-scope checklist

Before discussing an authorization, write down the recipient’s full name and contact details, the information or care-related purpose you want to cover, any limits you want to set, and how long you want access to last. Note whether you want an alternate recipient and whether the person you name is also intended to serve as a healthcare decision-maker.

Gather any existing healthcare power of attorney or Tennessee advance healthcare directive, and note who holds copies. The Tennessee directive form includes an agent or alternate and healthcare preferences, with instructions about signing and sharing copies. Reviewing those documents alongside an authorization can help reveal gaps or overlapping roles.

• Who should receive information, and who should make healthcare decisions?
• What information should be shared, and for what purpose?
• When should access begin and end, and what limits matter to you?

Questions to resolve before signing

Ask whether the proposed authorization matches your intended scope and duration, how it relates to your healthcare directive or healthcare power of attorney, and whether an existing agent’s authority already covers the access you want. Confirm how copies should be shared with the people and providers who need them, using the instructions for the relevant documents.

Dale Law Group, PLLC, led by Carolyn D. Dale, offers HIPAA authorizations as part of its Tennessee estate-planning services. The firm’s office is in Murfreesboro; White House is an incorporated community spanning Robertson and Sumner counties. For municipal information, White House’s city website includes Business and Site Map resources; municipal information does not determine healthcare-document requirements.