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Part 2: Basic Patient Rights (FAQ 37 of 65)

 

Right to Receive an Accounting of Disclosures

37. What's an Accounting of Disclosures?

For a disclosure of medical information about an individual, an accounting is a record of:

  • The date of the disclosure
  • The name of the person or entity who received the information
  • A brief description of the information disclosed
  • A brief statement of the purpose of the disclosure (or, as an alternative, a copy of the request for a disclosure).
RULE OF THUMB:

The non-intuitive term accounting comes from an older privacy law. It's clearer to think of an accounting as a disclosure history. We will stick with the rule's accounting terminology here because it is used commonly in HIPAA circles.

 

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