Medical Privacy After Death: the HIPAA Privacy Rule
Mr. Charles Kels, an attorney for the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Health Affairs, and a judge advocate in the Air Force Reserve, and Dr. Lori Kels, Chief Resident in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, in Washington, DC, discuss their article appearing in the October 2013 issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, where they clarify the new HIPAA regulations which continue protection for decedent health records for 50 years after a patient's death, while offering physicians the necessary freedom to share relevant information with surviving family members and caregivers. Available at:
