Both the HIPAA Privacy Rule and Indiana law give you rights in your medical record. The HIPAA Privacy Rule sets standards that apply to records held by health care providers across the nation. Indiana law sets standards for records held by doctors, dentists, chiropractors, hospitals, clinics and other health care providers within the state. Most health care providers must follow both the HIPAA Privacy Rule and Indiana law. If a standard in Indiana law conflicts with a standard in the HIPAA Privacy Rule, your health care provider must follow the law that is the most protective of your rights.
Summary of Your Rights
In Indiana you have the right to:
- See and get a copy of your medical record.
Your health care provider usually must let you see your medical record or give you a copy of it no later than 30 days after they receive your request.
Your health care provider is allowed to charge you a fee for copying your record. They can also charge you the actual cost for postage if you have the copy mailed to you.
- Have information added to your medical record to make it more accurate or complete.
In certain cases, your provider can deny your request to amend your record. If this happens, you have the right to add your own short statement to your medical record.
- File a complaint.
You have the right to file a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services if you believe your health care provider has violated your right to see, get a copy of, or amend your medical record. You can also file a complaint with the state agency that regulates your health care provider.
- You have the right to sue in state court if your health care provider violates your rights under Indiana law.
You have the right under Indiana law to sue in state court to obtain your medical record.
You can learn more about these rights in the following sections of guide.
Who Has to Follow These Laws?
Most Indiana health care providers (such as doctors, dentists and hospitals) must follow both the HIPAA Privacy Rule and state laws that give patients rights in their medical records.
There are some health care providers, however, that do not have to follow the HIPAA Privacy Rule. The HIPAA Privacy Rule only covers health care providers that use computers to send health information for certain administrative or financial purposes (such as filing claims for insurance).
Sometimes Ashley goes to a doctor at a free clinic for medical treatment. The doctor does not accept private insurance, Medicaid, or Medicare. The doctor does not file any insurance claims. Ashley’s doctor probably does not have to follow the HIPAA Privacy Rule because the doctor does not appear to send health information for the types of administrative or financial purposes that would make her a covered health care provider under the Rule.
If you have questions about whether your health care provider must follow the federal HIPAA Privacy Rule, you can contact the Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (OCR), the agency that is in charge of enforcing the HIPAA Privacy Rule. Section 4 of this guide lists contact information for OCR.
Are nursing homes covered by HIPAA?
Yes. Most nursing homes are covered by the HIPAA Privacy Rule. They also have to follow other specific rules that only apply to nursing homes and long term care facilities. Because the rules for nursing homes are different than they are for other health care providers, they are not covered by this guide.
What happens if my provider does not have to follow HIPAA?
Even if your provider does not have to follow the HIPAA Privacy Rule, they still have to follow Indiana laws that give you rights to your medical record. Section 6 lists some resources for these state laws.
This guide, however, only explains getting your medical record from Indiana providers who have to follow the HIPAA Privacy Rule and state law.
What Records Do I Have the Right to Get and Amend?
You have the right to see and get a copy of your medical record. This right often is called the right to access your medical record. You also have the right to correct your medical record by having information added to it to make it more complete or accurate. This right is called the right to amend your record. (This guide will call these rights the "right to get and amend.")
Your medical record includes such things as:
- Information that identifies you, such as your name and Social Security number.
- Information that you tell your doctor, such as:
- Your medical history.
- How you feel at the time of your visit.
- Your family health history.
- The results of your examination.
- Test results.
- Treatment received in a hospital.
- X-rays, records made by heart monitors, and similar items.
- Medicine prescribed.
- Notes your doctor makes about you.
- Other information about things that can affect your health or health care.
You have the right to see, get a copy of, and amend your record whether it is kept on paper, on a computer, or in some other format.
Who owns my medical record?
Under Indiana law, your health care provider owns the actual medical record. However, you have the right to see and get a copy of it.
What happens if my medical record has information in it that came from a different health care provider?
Generally, if your provider has the medical information that you request, they must give it to you. You have the right to get the information no matter who originally put it in the record. Your right to amend this information may be limited, though. For more information about how to amend information in your record you can read Section 3 of this guide.
Do I have the right to get and amend records about my mental health treatment?
Maybe. The rules for when you can get and amend your records about mental health treatment may be different. For example, psychotherapy notes are treated differently than other records under HIPAA. Because the rules for mental health records can be different they are not discussed in this guide. You can find some resources that explain your rights in these types of records in Section 6.
Who Has the Right to Get and Amend My Medical Record?
You have the right to see and get a copy of medical records that are about you. You also have the right to correct medical records that are about you by having information added to them. (This guide calls these rights the right to "get and amend" your medical record.) If there is someone who acts as your personal representative, they usually have the right to get and amend your record on your behalf.
Do I have the right to get and amend my minor child’s medical record?
Generally, yes. As a parent or guardian, you usually have the right to get and amend your minor child’s medical record. In Indiana, you have these rights when your child is younger than 18 years old.
As a parent, do I always have the right to get and amend my child’s medical record?
No. A parent does not always have the right to get and amend a minor child’s medical record. For example, if a health care provider reasonably believes that a parent is abusing or neglecting a child, the provider does not have to give the parent access to the child’s medical record.
Some other situations where parents do not have the right to get and amend their child’s medical records are discussed in the following questions and answers.
Who has the right to get and amend my child’s medical record once she turns 18?
Once your child turns 18, your child has the right to see, get a copy of, and amend her own medical record. This includes getting access to records that were created when she was still a minor. You usually no longer have the right to get and amend your child’s medical record just because you are her parent.
I am under 18 and am emancipated. Who has the right to get and correct my medical record?
In Indiana, if you are under 18 and emancipated, you have the right to get and amend your own medical record. Your parents generally do not have the right of access to your medical records once you have become emancipated.
I am an unemancipated minor but I can legally consent to certain kinds of medical treatment without my parents’ permission. Who has the right to get and amend my records that are related to this treatment?
It depends. In Indiana, minors can consent to certain kinds of medical treatment without the permission of their parents. For example, unemancipated minors in Indiana who think that they may have been exposed to a sexually transmitted disease usually may consent to treatment for the condition without the permission of their parents. If you, as an unemancipated minor, consent to treatment for certain sexually transmitted diseases (AIDS, gonorrhea, viral hepatitis, HIV, syphilis, chancroid and chlamydia), you have the sole right to get and amend your medical record related to this treatment. Your health care provider cannot give your parents access to medical information related to treatment for these conditions without your written permission.
Example
Jason is 15 and is sexually active. Jason gives his permission to be tested for gonorrhea. Jason’s mother later requests a copy of Jason’s medical record. Jason's provider may not give Jason's mother access to the part of his medical record related to the gonorrhea test without Jason's written permission.
The rules may be different when you, as a minor, obtain other sorts of treatment without parental consent. If you have questions or concerns about whether your parent will have access to your medical information, you should talk to your health care provider.
My mother appointed me her health care representative. Do I have the right to get and amend her medical records?
Yes. In Indiana, you can sign a document that authorizes someone you trust to make health care decisions for you if you are not able to make decisions yourself. This person is called your health care representative. If you are your mother’s health care representative, you generally have the right to get and amend her medical records that are relevant to making health care decisions on her behalf. You have these rights only during the time that you have the authority to act as her health care representative.
Maria’s mother signed an advance directive naming Maria as her health care representative and giving her the power to make health care decisions if her mother is unable to make such decisions. Maria’s mother was in a bad accident and is not able to make decisions about her health care. Maria now has the right to make decisions on her mother’s behalf. She also has the right to get and amend medical records that are relevant to making these decisions. For example, Maria has the right to see the records about her mother’s current medical condition and treatment.
Maria is curious about the time her mother had a miscarriage. Maria wants to look at these old medical records. Maria does
not have the right to get and amend these old medical records because the records have nothing to do with her mother’s current condition or treatment.
My father recently died. Do I have the right to get his medical record?
It depends. You have the right to get a deceased person’s medical records from an Indiana health care provider if you are the personal representative (such as the executor or administrator) of the deceased person’s estate. If there is no personal representative of the estate, the spouse of the deceased has the right to request the deceased's medical records. If there is no spouse, a child of a deceased patient or the parent, guardian, or custodian of the child if the child is incompetent, has the right to request the record.
How Long Does My Provider Have to Keep My Medical Record?
Indiana law requires generally requires health care providers to keep medical records at least 7 years after the date the record was made. Indiana health care providers must keep your x-ray film for at least 5 years. In practice, many health care providers keep their records longer.
You have a right to see, get a copy of, and amend your medical record for as long as your health care provider has it.
