Patient access to clinical information

Overview

The NPC distinguished safeguards for telephone inquiries from a general requirement for physician approval. The cited DOH manual provision concerned telephone requests; it should not become a blanket restriction on a patient’s reasonable access to their information.

Practice implications

Parao Law practice guidance

For physicians

Give patients a clear route to request records. Verify identity or representative authority, identify the information requested, and arrange a secure release method. Do not automatically require attending-physician approval for every type of request merely because a telephone procedure requires it.

For lawyers

Identify the request channel and the actual reason for any restriction. Review whether the facility’s procedure facilitates access while protecting confidentiality. This opinion addresses the cited telephone procedure; it does not resolve every possible exception to access.