CLINICAL LAB SCIENEC

74
ESSENTIALS OF CLINICAL LABORATORY SCIENCE
To
WITNESS
RELEASE AND ASSIGNMENT
Date
INSURANCE COMPANY
Group No.
Certificate No.
I hereby authorize Dr.
to release to your company or its representative, any information
including the diagnosis and the records of any treatment or
examination rendered to me during the period of such Medical or
Surgical care.
I also authorize and request your company to pay directly to the
above named doctor the amount due me in my pending claim for
Basic Medical, Major Medical and/or Surgical treatment or services,
by reason of such treatment or services rendered to:
PATIENT
SIGNATURE OF INSURED
ADDRESS
Limited and Specified Use of Personal
Medical Information
There are limits as to how information may
be used and what information will be shared,
which does not include personal information
or the patient’s entire medical file. In the past,
many facilities sold information to companies
performing research or those interested
in marketing a product and desired a population
that used a particular product. Personal
information not related to health care issues
may be provided to outside entities, but the
patient must authorize release of medical and/
or personal information to other health care
facilities, providers, insurance companies, or
financial institutions. Facilities must reveal
dissemination of demographic information to
other agencies that are studying a region of
the country or a particular population group.
FIGURE 3-3 Official form that provides a release of medical information
as approved by patient.
Source: Delmar/Cengage Learning.
Prohibition on Marketing
Information released to pharmacies, pharmaceutical
firms, health plans, and so on must be authorized by the patient, as stated
previously, before the information may be transmitted. As an example, many pharmaceutical
firms use patient data for research purposes related to treatment with
medications developed for the treatment of specific diseases. Patients are asked to
sign a release allowing specific information to be passed to an insurance carrier or
another agency needing such information.
Stronger State Laws
These federal privacy standards give states that have laws requiring privacy protections
for patients a minimum standard to ensure that effective protections
are in effect. One area where this requirement would affect state laws is in the
reporting of infectious diseases to state health departments. Certain protections
of this information would be in effect for the states in their reporting, tracking,
and use of information for surveillance purposes. Most states have laws requiring
the reporting of certain contagious and communicable diseases . This type
of surveillance is necessary to provide more protection for the entire population.
Sexually transmitted and foodborne diseases comprise the major portion of
reportable diseases as required by law .
Confidential Communications
Patients may request that physicians, their health care plans, and other involved
offices enact practices that ensure that communication with the patient is kept
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