HHS OCR clarifies how much people may be charged for copies of their PHI

The HHS Office for Civil Rights on May 24 clarified how much people may be charged for copies of their protected health information. The additional information was released in response to questions raised in the wake of a fact sheet and two sets of frequently asked questions (FAQs) that OCR posted earlier this year about the right people have to access and obtain a copy of their PHI under HIPAA. “Specifically, we clarify in a new FAQ that $6.50 is not the maximum amount that can be charged for all individual requests for a copy of PHI under the right of access. Rather, charging a flat fee not to exceed $6.50 is an option available to those entities that do not want to go through the process of calculating actual or average costs for requests for electronic copies of PHI maintained electronically as permitted by the Privacy Rule,” OCR said. “Entities may choose the fee calculation method that is most appropriate for their circumstances, within the boundaries of what is permissible under the Privacy Rule.”

Source: https://aishealth.com