Tips on Protecting Privacy of Your Medical Records

Signing an insurance reimbursement release form may affect the confidentiality of your medical records.

Here are some tips from the American Medical Record Assn., the Privacy Journal and the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen to protect the privacy of those records.

--Question your insurance company about who will have access to your records, how long they will be kept and how the confidentiality of the information is protected.

--If insurance records are handled by or released to your employer, find out which department or individual handles them, how long they are stored and what privacy protections are in place.

--To verify claims and prevent fraud, insurance companies must have access to physician or hospital records regarding the specific treatment for which coverage is sought. Try to restrict the information released to only that covering the single claim.

--Alter the release statement on your insurance form to meet your privacy needs. Delete clauses that allow photocopying of originals, release of information to employers, insurance data banks or research organizations. Edit out general terms and specify who can have access to your file. Set a date after which the release is no longer valid. Be aware that some insurance companies will refuse reimbursement if you rewrite the release, but others may accept some alterations.

--Tell your doctor to mark in your record any illnesses or treatments you particularly wish to be kept confidential and ask him to withhold that information if it does not pertain to a subsequent insurance coverage request.

--Request similar confidentiality from the billing and records departments where you have been hospitalized and ask them to notify you if anyone requests your records for purposes other than those you have specified.

--Obtain full copies of all of your medical records so that you know what is contained in them and can catch and correct any mistakes.

--Many states still do not have laws guaranteeing your right to obtain your own medical records, or regulating the standards of those who hold them. Contact your elected officials if you think medical privacy laws need changing.