Part 2: Basic Patient Rights (FAQ 52 of 65)

Right to Request Restrictions on Uses and Disclosures

52. What is the Right to Request Restrictions on Uses and Disclosures?

The right to request restrictions is the least meaningful of the seven HIPAA patient rights. A covered entity must allow a patient to request a restriction on the uses or disclosures of the patient's information to carry out treatment, payment, or health care operations. A patient can also ask for a restriction on disclosures to a family member, relative, or close personal friend.

You can read later in this document about the scope of permissible uses and disclosures for treatment, payment, and health care operations. (See FAQs 56 & 57.) No covered entity needs your consent to make disclosures for those purposes. Health care operations is a particularly broad term that includes many activities that are in the interest of the covered entity and not necessarily in the interest of the patient.

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