Site MapHelpFeedbackChapter Overview
Chapter Overview
(See related pages)

Patients' medical records—progress notes, reports, and other clinical materials—are legal documents that belong to the provider who created them. But the provider cannot withhold the information in the records unless providing it would be detrimental to the patient's health. The information belongs to the patient, who controls the amount and type of information that is released to others, except for the use of the data to treat him or her or to conduct the normal business transactions of the covered entity (with some legal exceptions).

Allied health personnel handle issues such as requests for information from patients' medical records. They need to know what information can be released about patients' conditions and treatments. What information can be legally shared among providers, health plans, and clearinghouses? What information must the patient specifically authorize for release? The answers to these questions are based on the HIPAA privacy standards.








HIPAA for Allied Health CareerOnline Learning Center

Home > Chapter 2 > Chapter Overview