HIPAA Authorizations in Green Hill

Start with the role you need someone to have

If your goal is to let a family member or another trusted person receive information from healthcare providers, a HIPAA authorization may address that access. It does not, by itself, appoint that person to make healthcare decisions for you.

Healthcare decision-making authority is a separate question. Under HIPAA, authority under state law can make someone a personal representative. That means an agent with healthcare authority should not automatically be assumed to need a separate HIPAA authorization, or to have authority broader than the governing documents and law provide.

• Information access: Who may receive health information, and what information may be shared?
• Healthcare authority: Who may make decisions if you cannot communicate, and under what document or legal authority?
• Financial authority: A financial power of attorney concerns acting on someone’s behalf in financial matters; it is not interchangeable with healthcare authority.

Compare recipient, scope, and duration

Before preparing an authorization, decide whether one person or more than one person should receive information, and whether each recipient should have the same access. Consider whether the intended sharing is broad or limited to particular information or circumstances. The right choice depends on whom you trust and what that person may need to help coordinate.

Think about duration as a separate choice. You may want access to continue for a defined period or circumstance, or to address ongoing coordination. Avoid assuming that an authorization creates decision-making authority or that every recipient should receive unrestricted information.

• Recipient: Name the person or people you intend to authorize, and confirm that the names and contact details are accurate.
• Scope: Note the information or situation for which access is intended.
• Duration: Record when you want access to begin and what should happen when the authorization is no longer needed.
• Coordination: List any healthcare directive or healthcare power of attorney that should be reviewed alongside the authorization.

Prepare a sharing plan before your review

A practical starting document is a one-page information-sharing plan. Write down each proposed recipient, the reason that person may need information, the scope of access you are considering, and the intended duration. Mark any item you are unsure about rather than guessing. This gives you a clear basis for discussing whether the authorization fits your healthcare directive and other planning documents.

Tennessee’s Advance Directive for Health Care form addresses an agent or alternate and healthcare preferences, and includes instructions about signing and sharing copies. Review how your documents fit together, but do not treat an information-sharing authorization as a substitute for a directive or follow a signing process without confirming which form and requirements apply.

Questions to bring to a planning conversation

Dale Law Group, PLLC offers HIPAA authorizations and related estate-planning services to clients in Tennessee, including Green Hill in Wilson County. The firm’s office is in Murfreesboro; Green Hill is not a separate firm office. A focused review can help you identify which documents address information access and which address healthcare decisions.

• Does this person need information access, decision-making authority, or both?
• Should access be limited by recipient, information, circumstance, or duration?
• How should this authorization coordinate with my healthcare power of attorney and advance directive?
• Who should receive copies, and how will I keep the documents current if my preferences change?