OCR Provides Further Clarification on Charging Flat Rate for Copies of PHI

The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) at the Department of Health and Human Services recently provided further clarification about the amount that an individual may be charged for a copy of their protected health information (PHI). After releasing guidance earlier this year about individuals’ rights under HIPAA to access and obtain a copy of their health information, OCR provided clarification in response to questions it received after releasing the guidance. In a new frequently asked questions, OCR clarifies that $6.50 is not the maximum amount that can be charged to provide individuals with a copy of their PHI. Rather, OCR states that charging a flat fee of $6.50 is an option available to those covered entities (or business associate acting on behalf of the covered entity) that do not want to calculate the allowable fees for providing individuals with copies of their PHI as provided by the Privacy Rule.

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