You supervise the correspondence unit of the health information services departm

Question

You supervise the correspondence unit of the health information services department of a medical center. you received a subpoena duces tecum from an attorney, demanding either The Originals or copies of all health records concerning Mary Smith, who allegedly is or was a patient of the medical center. The subpoena lacks sufficient information for you to determine whether Mary Smith is or was a patient in your facility. The subpoena is not accompanied by a valid authorization to release information for Mary Smith, as required in your state. How should you respond to the subpoena?

Explanation / Answer

In this case, the attrney issuing the subpoenaa should be contacted to inform him / her that the record is protected by the physician - patient privilege. For this, he /she will need to obtain either patient authorization or an order from the court authorizing the disclosure to the attorney.

Usually these issues are resolved informally, but if the informal resolution is not possible, a written objection in reply to the subpoena should be made within 14 days, or before the date on production of documents is due. The objection should clearly state the description of nature of documents to be produced.

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