REVOKING AUTHORIZATIONS TO USE OR DISCLOSE PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION
An individual can revoke an authorization form he or she has executed that would allow a covered entity to use or disclose protected health information at any time in writing under certain conditions. A revocation will not be valid if the covered entity has relied and acted upon on that authority or if the authority was obtained as a condition of obtaining insurance coverage. In the latter event, other law may provide the insurer with a remedy to contest a claim under the policy or the actual policy itself. Any remedy provided cannot be abrogated by a revocation. Thus, if the individual's insurance policy is still in the contestability period, the individual cannot revoke any authority previously given while a material misrepresentation is being investigated.
If authority to use or disclose protected health information has been granted for research purposes, any information already obtained pursuant to that authorization can still be used to the extent necessary to preserve the integrity of the research study. For example, the protected health information may be needed to report adverse effects or to account for a withdrawal from the research study. Information obtained after the revocation cannot be used in connection with the research study for any purpose.
Copyright 2008 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.
