One doctor’s system can push bits of your record to another doctor’s system (a digital version of a fax). Or the doctor’s system can give you your record and you can give it to anyone you wish. The last approach is called “consumer-mediated” sharing.
How do I give someone access to my medical records?
If you would like to access your own health information or records, you have a right to request this by contacting the health service provider with whom your information is being held. This may be your GP, specialist or a hospital where you are or were a patient.
You have a legal right to copies of your own medical records. A loved one or caregiver may have the right to get copies of your medical records, too, but you may have to provide written permission. Your health care providers have a right to see and share your records with anyone else to whom you’ve granted permission.
Under HIPAA, your health care provider may share your information face-to-face, over the phone, or in writing. A health care provider or health plan may share relevant information if: You give your provider or plan permission to share the information. You are present and do not object to sharing the information.
HIPAA compliant file sharing apps that we reviewed are following:
- Accellion.
- Box.
- Dropbox.
- Egnyte.
- FTP Today.
- G Suite.
- OneDrive.
- ShareFile.
With that said, here are your best file-sharing options—and the features that set them apart.
- Firefox Send. Courtesy of Firefox. …
- Dropbox. Courtesy of Dropbox. …
- WeTransfer. Courtesy of WeTransfer. …
- Google Drive. Courtesy of Google. …
- OneDrive. Courtesy of OneDrive. …
- SendAnywhere. Courtesy of Send Anywhere. …
- iCloud. Courtesy of Apple.
The Doctor and/or Patient Needs Help
Even in cases not involving traumatic injuries, HIPAA allows doctors to share patient information and records with other health care providers as necessary for their health and treatment.
Yes. The HIPAA Privacy Rule at 45 CFR 164.510(b) specifically permits covered entities to share information that is directly relevant to the involvement of a spouse, family members, friends, or other persons identified by a patient, in the patient’s care or payment for health care.
Under the federal law known as HIPAA, it’s illegal for health care providers to share patients’ treatment information without their permission.
Do I have to disclose my medical condition to anyone?
Whether you tell your employer about your illness is a personal decision. There is no law that says you have to share your diagnosis with anyone. If you do tell your employer, you have the right to privacy. They are not allowed to share the information with anyone else without your consent.