If an attorney requests a medical record and it’s not accompanied by a signed authorization, what should the insurance specialist do?

When an attorney requests a medical record without a signed authorization from the patient, the appropriate response is to instruct the attorney to obtain the patient's signed authorization. This is crucial because under HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), healthcare providers must ensure that they have the necessary permissions to disclose a patient's confidential medical information.

Medical records contain sensitive personal health information, and legal mandates require that this information can only be released when proper consent has been granted by the patient. The signed authorization serves as a protective measure for the patient's privacy rights and ensures compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.

If the request were to proceed without such authorization, the insurance specialist could be violating HIPAA regulations, putting both the patient's privacy and the healthcare provider's compliance at risk. Additionally, while faxing the records or completely refusing to handle the request may seem like options, they do not align with the protocol of ensuring proper authorization is in place. Addressing the need for patient authorization maintains ethical and legal standards in handling medical records.