HIPAA Rights on getting Medical Records & A Template to Request Them

If you have A Healthcare Power of Attorney for your loved one, under HIPAA, you have access to their medical records in a long-term care facility. These are critical to have as POA’s have been locked out of facilities with very little access to loved one or inside their rooms. This is the only way you can truly monitor your loved one’s care and have the care history to make good decisions when you have to make them. With no meaningful outside oversight, and the Resident Representative having very little in person contact with resident, the POA’s have to make their own plan to monitor their loved own until normal access resumes.

Sadly families are reporting that medications have been added without the POA being notified as they were before the crisis. Also, there have been adverse health situations that are not being reported to the POA as well. We cannot ignore how many are getting injured or dying. There may be a minimal charge for these records, but well worth the information in our opinion.

Read here information on right to these records and where you can file a complaint if you are denied these records as it is a HIPAA violation.

Here is also a template you can copy and paste, then tweak out to your liking:

Date:

Facility Name:

Dear (Name of Director),

Due to the decision makers not recognizing the essential support and assistance I give my (mother, father, sister, brother, or other) authorized by my (legal guardian, legal POA, legal healthcare POA, or designation by representative) and not being given reasonable time to address issues other than in a limited 30 minute visit that frequency will be limited, I must ask for the following until I have in- person access at all times:

1.     I will need the MARS report monthly (medication administration record)

2.     I will need daily care notes weekly

Please understand, I am not trying to put an additional hardship on you, but this is the only way I feel I will be able to monitor my family member close to the same way as when I could visit randomly at any time.  I am responsible for making or assisting in decisions, and I will need to monitor my loved one’s care and status regularly in order to make the best decisions when needed.

It is my hope that in the near future they will allow me to have access at all times in the room to carry out the assistance I have committed to do for my loved one, but until then, I will rely on the information in these records to assist my monitoring of my loved one.

Sincerely,

Name

Address

Phone number