The Practical Guide to Release of Information

The Practical Guide to Release of Information

Rose T. Dunn, RHIA, CPA, CHPS; Scott A. Edelstein, Esq.

Release of information (ROI) is an ongoing challenge for healthcare facilities and physician offices as they strive to comply with changing regulations that determine how and when to release a patient's private health information.

Here's a book that provides the information and guidance that health information management professionals seek. The Practical Guide to Release of Information offers advice that will help ensure your ROI department knows how to process requests in a timely and compliant manner. Download any of the forms and policies included on the companion CD-ROM and make your processes even stronger.

You can't just photocopy medical records and give the pages to anyone who asks for them. HIPAA requirements and various restrictions embodied in state and other federal laws make it both time consuming and expensive--not to mention a risk to compliance--to release information without knowing how to determine the rules and follow them.
Whether you manage ROI in-house or outsource it, this book contains the advice you need to establish and manage the process, and measure staff productivity. You'll also learn how to easily access a legal resource that explains your state's regulations that govern copy costs.

Take a look at the Contents

• What is Release of Information?
• Release of Information--The Process
• A Blueprint for Establishing Release of Information Services
• Resources Necessary for Release of Information
• Why We Need to Know About Costs Associated with Release of Information
• Case Study
• Release of Information Challenges
• Anatomy of the Copy Cost Lawsuit
• E -Discovery
• Federal Preemption of State Release of Information Laws

Here are a few of the same forms and policies you'll receive on the accompanying CD-ROM

• Sample confidentiality acknowledgment pertaining to privacy and security of various information
• Sample authorization form for release of health information
• Sample policy pertaining to uses and disclosures of PHI for TPO
• Sample time/labor estimate to project ROI staffing requirements
• Sample authorization for release of PHI from mental health records