Decide what access you want to give
Start with the practical question: who should be able to speak with your healthcare providers or receive your health information, and what information should they be able to access? You may want to identify a trusted person who can help coordinate care, or allow more than one person to receive information. The right arrangement depends on your wishes and circumstances.
Consider scope and duration together. A narrowly defined authorization may fit a particular situation; a broader one may better suit ongoing coordination. Think about whether access should continue indefinitely or only for a period or circumstance you identify. Ask how the authorization can be changed or ended, and how the recipient and providers will know which version is current.
Separate information access from healthcare authority
An authorization for information sharing is not the same as a healthcare power of attorney or advance healthcare directive. Those documents address decision-making authority and healthcare preferences. Under HIPAA, state-law authority to make healthcare decisions can also make someone a personal representative for relevant purposes; a separate authorization is not always necessary for that role. Do not assume that naming someone to receive information gives that person authority to consent to care or make decisions.
Likewise, authority under one role does not automatically establish authority under another. Financial agents, trustees, and court-appointed guardians or conservators have different roles. Review the document and the authority it grants rather than treating these roles as interchangeable.
Prepare a simple access worksheet
Before discussing an authorization, make a one-page list to clarify your choices. Include each proposed recipient’s name and relationship to you; the information or kinds of information you want shared; any limits or conditions; the intended duration; and your preferred alternate, if any. Add questions about how a recipient can request information and how you want updates handled. This worksheet is for planning, not a substitute for the signed document.
Compare the list against your healthcare power of attorney and advance directive. Check that the people you name and the instructions you want are consistent, while keeping information access distinct from the authority to make healthcare decisions. Tennessee’s Advance Directive for Health Care form addresses an agent or alternate and healthcare preferences, and includes instructions about document signing and sharing copies.
Questions to resolve before you sign
Ask whether your proposed scope is clear, whether the chosen duration matches your intentions, and how to update the authorization if your wishes or circumstances change. Confirm with the relevant healthcare provider what form or information it needs to honor an authorization; do not assume every provider uses the same process. Decide who should keep copies and how recipients will know if the document is replaced.
Dale Law Group, PLLC offers HIPAA authorization planning as part of its Tennessee estate-planning services. For clients in Gatlinburg, the firm’s office is in Murfreesboro. A discussion can help you coordinate your information-sharing choices with your healthcare decision-making documents.
Questions to bring to the discussion
Does a HIPAA authorization let my chosen person make healthcare decisions?
Not by itself. It addresses information sharing, while healthcare decision-making authority is addressed separately, such as through a healthcare power of attorney or advance directive. State-law authority may also make someone a HIPAA personal representative for relevant purposes.
What should I decide before preparing an authorization?
Identify the intended recipient or recipients, what information may be shared, any limits, and how long access should last. Also consider how the authorization can be updated or ended, and check with the relevant provider about its process for receiving it.
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.
