Under HIPAA, which patients have the right to access their medical records?

Under HIPAA, all patients who have protected health information (PHI) maintained by a covered entity have the right to access their medical records. This right is a fundamental principle of the Privacy Rule, designed to empower individuals with control over their personal health information.

The regulation specifically states that patients can request access to their medical records, and covered entities are required to provide this access unless there are specific exceptions outlined by the law, such as when the information is part of a psychotherapy note or when it might endanger the individual or others. This broad right affirms the importance of transparency and patient autonomy in the healthcare system.

The other options are too restrictive or mischaracterize the rights under HIPAA. For example, the option stating only patients with acute conditions would limit access to merely a subset of patients, which is inconsistent with the inclusive nature of HIPAA provisions. Similarly, while patients with a legal representative do have rights to access their records, the law extends this right to all patients regardless of their representation status. Lastly, the option stating that only patients who request access have the right overlooks the fact that this right is inherent to all patients with PHI held by a covered entity, regardless of whether they have made a request or not. Thus