• Listen Live NOW!
  • On Demand
  • Ways to Listen
  • All Shows
    • Radio Shows
      • Digital Health Talks
      • Health Stealth Radio
      • Health UnaBASHEd
      • Healthcare De Jure
      • Healthcare IT Today
      • News You Can Use
      • PopHealth Week
      • Talking the Walk
      • The Scope with Dr. K
      • The Tate Chronicles
      • The Virtual Shift
      • This Just In Radio Show
      • Trending NOW
      • Value-Based Care Insights
      • What’s My Tagline?
    • Podcast Shows
      • Ambulatory Healthcare Today
      • Ask the Educator
      • FINN Voices
      • Healthcare for Humans
      • Healthcare Rap
      • HealthLaw HotSpot
      • Leader to Leader
      • The MRO Exchange
      • PayerTalkCE
      • Revenue Cycle Optimized
      • Selling to Healthcare
      • The Brain Trust
      • The Handoff
      • Unscripted The AMCP Podcast
    • Monthly/Limited Series Podcasts
      • Follow the Medical Record
      • Informonster Podcast
      • Life-Centered Health Care
      • Take a Listen
      • Tell Me Where IT Hurts
      • The Dish on Health IT
      • Voices of Self Funding
  • Playlists
  • NursesNOW
    • Nursing News
      • Organizations
      • Podcasts
  • Conferences
  • Request a Media Kit
Event Calendar
HealthcareNOWradio.comHealthcareNOWradio.com
  • Listen Live NOW!
  • On Demand
  • Ways to Listen
  • All Shows
    • Radio Shows
      • Digital Health Talks
      • Health Stealth Radio
      • Health UnaBASHEd
      • Healthcare De Jure
      • Healthcare IT Today
      • News You Can Use
      • PopHealth Week
      • Talking the Walk
      • The Scope with Dr. K
      • The Tate Chronicles
      • The Virtual Shift
      • This Just In Radio Show
      • Trending NOW
      • Value-Based Care Insights
      • What’s My Tagline?
    • Podcast Shows
      • Ambulatory Healthcare Today
      • Ask the Educator
      • FINN Voices
      • Healthcare for Humans
      • Healthcare Rap
      • HealthLaw HotSpot
      • Leader to Leader
      • The MRO Exchange
      • PayerTalkCE
      • Revenue Cycle Optimized
      • Selling to Healthcare
      • The Brain Trust
      • The Handoff
      • Unscripted The AMCP Podcast
    • Monthly/Limited Series Podcasts
      • Follow the Medical Record
      • Informonster Podcast
      • Life-Centered Health Care
      • Take a Listen
      • Tell Me Where IT Hurts
      • The Dish on Health IT
      • Voices of Self Funding
  • Playlists
  • NursesNOW
    • Nursing News
      • Organizations
      • Podcasts
  • Conferences
  • Request a Media Kit

Encouraging Health Care Providers to Waive Record Request Fees and Support Consumers in Sending Data to Third Parties

Leading Patient Advocates Commend New HHS Guidance on HIPAA

Mar 8, 2016 | Posted by Roberta | Health IT, Healthcare, HIT Feed, News |

NPWF logoThe GetMyHealthData Campaign (@GetMyHealthData) embraces new guidance released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for clearly stating that, among other things, patients should receive copies of their health information free of charge under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). The GetMyHealthData Campaign, which launched in July 2015, is led by the National Partnership for Women & Families and composed of leading consumer organizations, health care experts, former policymakers and technology organizations working to enhance consumer access to digital health information.

“Today’s guidance is a home run for patients and families, and will be a big help to health care providers who need a clear interpretation of the law as health records have become digital. HHS recognizes the essential role health information plays in enabling consumers to better manage their health and care, and this guidance will help eliminate many problems patients routinely encounter when they try to access and use their information,” said Christine Bechtel, campaign coordinator. “Patients continue to tell us that cost is a significant and unexpected barrier to getting their digital health information. They also struggle to have their records sent to consumer health apps, researchers and family caregivers. HHS is showing great leadership in addressing these issues.”

The GetMyHealthData Campaign has been collecting information from individuals who have requested their digital health information from their health care providers. Many have encountered barriers related to costs – high and unexpected charges for their own records, fees for using online patient portals and more. They have also encountered challenges trying to request or receive their data via an app. The new HHS guidance addresses a number of these problems by:

  • Encouraging health care providers to give patients free copies of their health information, including electronic copies. It states, “Providing individuals with access to their information is a necessary component of delivering and paying for health care”;
  • Establishing that health care providers may not charge patients for online access to their health information through patient portals or other means of electronic access to certified electronic health record (EHR) technology;
  • Requiring health care providers to estimate the fees that will be charged for copies of health care information up front, and to post fee schedules for common access requests online;
  • Stating that health care providers cannot charge per-page fees for electronic copies of health information, as long as that information is maintained electronically;
  • Determining that health care providers may not require patients to purchase portable media (flash drive or CD-ROM);
  • Clarifying that consumers can ask that their data be sent to “third parties,” including consumer eHealth applications, researchers and family members; and
  • Distinguishing an “individual right of access request” from a “HIPAA authorization” and explaining how they impact a patient’s ability to send data to a third party.

“We commend the department for the strong and badly needed guidance it released on behalf of consumers today. As a nation, we are making great strides in our collective work to transform our health care system so it delivers better care and better outcomes at lower cost, but this transformation cannot succeed without the active engagement of patients and family caregivers. Seamless access to electronic health information is critical to making patients and family caregivers true and equal partners in improving health,” said Debra L. Ness, president of the National Partnership. “HHS’ clarification that health care providers should be giving patients their health information free of charge moves us closer to a time when all patients and caregivers will have that seamless access.”

“Health information management professionals often serve as the bridge between patients and health care providers, and having this important guidance from HHS will help our members as they maintain and share digital health information,” said AHIMA CEO Lynne Thomas Gordon, MBA, RHIA, CAE, FACHE, FAHIMA. “It is especially important that we are able to move forward with a clear understanding of how HIPAA’s Privacy Law can be upheld while encouraging providers to reduce the costs associated with providing patients with the health information they need to make informed decisions.” AHIMA is a co-founder of the GetMyHealthData Campaign.

About the GetMyHealthData Campaign
The GetMyHealthData campaign is a collaborative effort among leading consumer organizations, health care experts, former policymakers and technology organizations that believe passionately that consumer access to digital health information is an essential cornerstone of better health and better care.

About the National Partnership for Women & Families
The National Partnership for Women & Families (@NPWF) a nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy group dedicated to promoting fairness in the workplace, access to quality health care and policies that help women and men meet the dual demands of work and family.

About the American Health Information Management Association
The American Health Information Management Association (@AHIMAResources) is the premier association of health information management (HIM) professionals worldwide. Serving 52 affiliated component state associations and more than 101,000 health information professionals, it is recognized as the leading source of “HIM knowledge,” a respected authority for rigorous professional education and training. Founded in 1928 to improve health record quality, AHIMA has played a leadership role in the effective management of health data and medical records needed to deliver quality healthcare to the public.

Tags: AHIMAGetMyHealthDataHHSHIPAANational Partnership for Women & Familiespatient advocacy

Radio for the Healthcare Industry

No HTML5 audio playback capabilities for this browser. Use Chrome Browser!

Categories

Get Our News Digest


Thank you!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

.

Upcoming Events

May 12
May 12 - May 13

Digital Health 2025

May 19
May 19 - May 20

Digital Healthcare Innovation Summit

Boston
May 19
May 19 - May 21

AACN’s National Teaching Institute & Critical Care Exposition 2025

New Orleans
View Calendar

About HealthcareNOWRadio.com

HealthcareNOWradio.com is an Internet radio station operated and produced as part of Answers Media Network. The station offers interviews, and commentary from industry leaders in healthcare and health information technology, as well as originally produced programming hosted by industry leaders. Listen on any device 24/7. You can also subscribe to get notification when a new show airs.

Sign Up for Our e-News Digest

Get notified when a new show airs or when your favorites are available as podcasts. Sign up here

Connect with Us

Request a Media Kit

Contact Us

Book a Guest

Visit Health IT Answers

©2025 Answers Media Company, LLC

  • Our Privacy Policy
  • Our Guests and Recording Policy
Prev Next