Libby Dowdall, Communications Coordinator, Project HealthDesign National Program Office
Last week, during the Patient Access to Data Summit, HHS’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released a memo and video that aim to help patients understand their legal right to access their own health information.
The memo, a message from Leon Rodriguez, director of OCR, affirms the importance of patient access for medical records “so that [patients] can track their progress through wellness programs, monitor chronic conditions, communicate with their treatment teams, and adhere to their important treatment plans.” The memo also documents patients’ rights to see and obtain copies of health records and to express a preference for electronic or paper copies when both are available. OCR encourages patients to print the memo and take it with them when requesting their health information from a covered entity, like a hospital, doctor, or other health care provider.
OCR has also made additional resources on this topic available to consumers:
- Download the “Your Health Information Privacy Rights” brochure.
- Learn more about patients’ rights to access their medical records.
- Learn how to file a complaint with OCR if you think your health information privacy rights have been violated.
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