Patient health information is very sensitive information and shouldn’t be handled carelessly. That’s why patient healthcare information is protected under patient-doctor confidentiality so healthcare professionals are bound by oath to keep patients’ information safe. However, there are cases where you (the healthcare provider) may need to share patients’ health information e.g. when changing doctors or filing medical insurance claims, but it has to be on the patient’s terms and that’s why we have the HIPAA release form.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, simply known as HIPAA, protects patients’ health information according to a set of national standards. It ensures that no one can access patient’s medical records except them and their healthcare provider, who cannot disclose patient information as they are mandated by the practice confidentiality clause not to disclose the information to anyone.

However, when patients transfer care, their new healthcare provider needs to know their medical history for an appropriate treatment plan.  A HIPAA release form, allows you to release patients’ health information with specified persons or organizations. This way only healthcare providers who need the information have access to it and patients still receive the best care even when they change providers.

Types of HIPAA Release Forms

The following are the most common types of HIPAA release forms and when to use them:

• Treatment Release Forms: They allow patients to release their health history from one healthcare provider to another.
• Payment Release Forms: They help patients give healthcare providers permission to disclose billing and claim information with insurance companies.
• Authorization for Disclosure of PHI for Other Purposes: Patients use this form to disclose their health information outside of treatment and reimbursement activities. For example, patients can use forms to disclose their health information to an attorney if relevant to a suit.

What Should HIPAA Release Forms Contain?

Your HIPAA release form must include the following:

• Patient Information: Patient’s full name, date of birth, contact details.
• Authorized Parties: This includes the authorized recipient of medical information, such as a healthcare provider, insurance company, or attorney.
• Scope of Information to Be Disclosed: The exact information or records to be disclosed and any restrictions on that disclosure. For example, is the patient releasing their entire medical file, specific test results, or restricted set of documents regarding a particular health history?
• Purpose of Disclosure: Why is the patient releasing the medical information? For example, is it because patients need to transfer medical care, process insurance claims, enter a clinical trial, etc?
• Duration: For how long does the patient want to share their information? Is it for an event e.g. insurance claim or permanent?
• Signature and Date: Signature and date to ensure patient’s consent.
• Revocation: Several situations could warrant patients wanting to revoke the shared information, so add an option in your HIPAA release form for patients to revoke their consent. Also include exceptions to the revocation of consent e.g. patients cannot revoke consent after the information has been released to the third party after consent.

Best Practices for Completing HIPAA Release Forms

HIPAA release forms ensure that patients do not give away their health information without being fully aware of what they are releasing and why. Here are best practices for creating an effective HIPAA release form patients understand:

• Clear Language: Keep the release form simple. Avoid heavy legal and medical terms patients may find difficult to understand. 
• Be specific: What health information is the patient disclosing and why? This will help you ensure you only share information that the patient wants you to.
• Open Communication: Keep an open-door policy that. One allows patients to ask questions or clarify their concerns concerning the information requested and the purpose of release.
• Get consent: Get patients to confirm their understanding of how their information will be used and verify that released information meets requirements before they sign the form.
• Secure storage: Provide for safe keeping of patient records, by ensuring that they are encrypted against any unauthorized access. For example, you could use a 256-SSL encrypted form such as the Formplus HIPAA release form, and encrypt the form data while it is in transit. You could also encrypt the form and make it private so that only authorized parties can access it with consent.

Conclusion

HIPAA release forms help patients control access to their health information. It creates a legal record of patient’s health information flow without compromising their privacy. Your role as a healthcare provider is to ensure patients understand the information they release and do it with informed consent.

Also, using HIPAA release forms helps you request patients’ information needed to provide the best care on their history. Ready to securely collect and release patient health information? Get started with the Formplus HIPAA release template!