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A Sandy Springs lab agreed to pay a $16,500 settlement and implement a corrective action plan for its failure to enable patient access to health information in a timely manner.
Life Hope Labs agreed to implement a corrective action plan that includes two years of monitoring by the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, according to a press release.
A complaint was filed against the diagnostic lab in August 2021 that alleged it would not provide a daughter with a copy of her deceased father’s medical records. The first request was made on July 7, 2021, but the complainant did not receive the records until more than seven months later on Feb. 16, 2022. An investigation by OCR determined that the failure to provide timely access was a potential violation of the HIPAA right of access provision.
“Access to medical records, including lab results, empowers patients to better manage their health, communicate with their treatment teams, and adhere to their treatment plans. The HIPAA Privacy Rule gives individuals and personal representatives a right to timely access their medical records from all covered entities, including laboratories,” said OCR Director Melanie Fontes Rainer.
OCR’s guidance on the HIPAA right of access is available online.
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