HIPAA AUTHORIZATION

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 A HIPAA Authorization is a legal document that allows healthcare providers to disclose your protected health information to the individuals you designate.

HIPAA is the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which establishes strict privacy rules regarding medical records and healthcare information.

Without your written authorization, healthcare providers may be limited in what they can discuss with your family—even during a medical emergency.

A properly prepared HIPAA Authorization allows your designated individuals to request, review, and receive your medical information directly from healthcare providers. 

You decide exactly who may receive your medical information.

Many clients authorize:

• Their spouse 
• Adult children 
• Parents 
• Trusted siblings 
• Close friends 
• Individuals named in their Medical Power of Attorney 

You may authorize one person or multiple individuals, depending on your family's circumstances.

 A HIPAA Authorization may allow your designated individuals to:

• Obtain copies of medical records 
• Speak with physicians 
• Discuss treatment options 
• Receive hospital updates 
• Review laboratory results 
• Access mental health information when authorized 
• Obtain insurance-related medical information 

Your authorization can apply to physicians, hospitals, pharmacies, insurance companies, laboratories, and other healthcare providers covered by HIPAA. 

 Unlike a Medical Power of Attorney, a HIPAA Authorization can become effective immediately.

This means your designated individuals may communicate with healthcare providers whenever needed—even while you remain fully capable of making your own healthcare decisions.

You continue to control your own medical care. The document simply allows healthcare providers to share information with the people you have chosen.

No.

A HIPAA Authorization does not give anyone authority to make medical decisions for you.

It simply allows designated individuals to receive medical information.

If you want someone to make healthcare decisions when you cannot, you also need a Medical Power of Attorney.

These documents work together but serve different purposes.

A HIPAA Authorization is one of the core healthcare documents in a comprehensive estate plan.

It complements your:

• Medical Power of Attorney 
• Directive to Physicians (Living Will) 
• Durable Financial Power of Attorney 
• Declaration of Guardian 

Together, these documents ensure that both your medical information and your healthcare decisions can be handled according to your wishes.

Not necessarily.

While healthcare providers often work closely with spouses and family members, HIPAA privacy laws can limit what information may be disclosed without your written authorization.

No.

A HIPAA Authorization allows someone to receive medical information.

A Medical Power of Attorney authorizes someone to make healthcare decisions.

These are two separate documents.

Yes.

Many clients authorize multiple family members so that important medical information can be shared quickly when necessary. Your document can identify several trusted individuals. 

Yes.

As long as you have legal capacity, you may revoke or replace your HIPAA Authorization at any time.

Yes.

A HIPAA Authorization is one of the essential healthcare documents included in our Comprehensive Estate Planning Package.