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4. CAN FAMILY MEMBERS ACCESS MEDICAL INFORMATION IF A PATIENT IS NOT MENTALLY COMPETENT? Not necessarily. If adults don’t provide written consent to share their information, parents or other

family members can be cut out of a loved one’s health care even if the patient is living with them.  Family members frantically calling emergency rooms in search of a missing loved one may

get no help from hospital staff, says President Chris McDade of Medicare Markets at AmeriHealth Caritas, a national managed care organization. “Most providers will take the

better-safe-than-sorry approach,” he says. “The patient could potentially sue the provider” for breaching privacy. 5. WHAT ABOUT MY OWN HEALTH INFORMATION? You have the right to view your

medical information and to amend any information that is not correct or complete, McDade says. Your health care provider cannot deny your request for a copy of your medical records.  “It is

on them to provide that to you,” he says. “It’s your data.” HIPAA does allow health providers to charge you for providing your records, which can include copying costs, McDade says. 6. WHAT

IF SOMEONE REFUSES TO PROVIDE MY MEDICAL INFORMATION? If you are denied the ability to see your records, it could be because of a provider’s misunderstanding of the law. “HIPAA sometimes is

just something that people toss out there as a justification for not providing information,” says lawyer Eric Carlson, director of long-term services and support advocacy at Justice in

Aging, a nonprofit legal advocacy organization.  If a clerk refuses to provide your information, ask to speak to your health care provider or the practice manager, says Shirley B. Whitenack,

a lawyer and former president of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys.  Or ask if a social worker or patient advocate is on staff, she says. If all else fails, seek a lawyer’s help.

  Nursing home residents and their caregivers have special protections. If your loved one or you live in one of these facilities, you can ask your state ombudsman for help getting medical

records, Carlson says. 7. WHO HAS ACCESS TO PRIVATE MEDICAL RECORDS? Covered entities may disclose your loved one’s or your information to another health provider within a hospital or health

system to provide care, McDade says. But health care providers are obligated to limit information they share to the essentials, McDade says. An example: Your loved one or you may need to

provide written permission if you want your family doctor to share medical history with a specialist.