What you need to provide to your West Palm Beach Car accident attorney in terms of prior medical records and the impact of prior injuries to your case when you are involved in an accident in Palm Beach County? What are Your rights Under HIPPA

What you need to provide to your West Palm Beach Car accident attorney in terms of prior medical records and the impact of prior injuries to your case when you are involved in an accident in Palm Beach County? What are Your rights Under HIPPA?

The injured victim should provide all pre-accident medical records so your Palm Beach County accident attorney can determine if there are any prior medical conditions similar to the injured victim’s current complaints.

DON’T PANIC! Prior similar injuries DO NOT automatically hinder your case. Often, the impact of prior injuries can be minimized in front of a jury by arguing that the preexisting condition was aggravated by the subject accident.

What are your HIPAA rights for the use or disclosure of your protected health information (as set forth in 45 C.F.R. § 164.508.) and how does it affect your accident claim?

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) are your privacy rights in regards to your medical records. Any request for an injured victim’s medical records should be accompanied by an authorization that complies with privacy rule of HIPAA containing the following:

*description indentifying specific information to be used or disclosed

*name or identification of person or persons authorized to make the requested use or disclosure of the information (such as the health care provider)

*the name or identification of the person or persons to whom the health care provider may make the requested use or disclosure (such as your Palm Beach County attorney)

*a description of the purpose of the requested use or disclosure (“at the request of the individual” is a sufficient description if the individual initiates the authorization)

*the expiration date or expiration event for the authorization that relates to the individual or purpose of the use or disclosure; and

*the signature of the individual and the date signed. If the authorization is signed by your Palm Beach County accident attorney, a description of the representative’s authority to act for the individual must be included.

HIPAA also requires the authorization to contain notice of:

*the signing individual’s right to revoke the authorization, any exceptions to the right to revoke, and a description of how the individual may revoke the authorization;

*either a statement that the health care provider may not condition treatment, payment, enrollment, or eligibility for benefits on whether the individual signs the authorization (which will generally be the case) or, in the event the provider is permitted under 45 C.F.R. § 164.508(b)(4) to set conditions on the failure to sign, a statement of the consequences for refusing to sign the authorization; and

*the potential that the information to be disclosed will be subject to redisclosure by the recipient and no longer protected by the privacy rules.