Laboratory Information and Policies
Policies Regarding Release of Patient and Medical Record – Confidentiality:
THIS LABORATORY FOLLOWS ALL HIPAA GUIDELINES.
1. All requests for release of clinical and laboratory information must be made by the referring physician with verification and confirmation by at least 2 patient identifiers. Should there be any concerns, a fax sheet or letter head from the physician/hospital/clinic is requested to be sent to the Medical Genetics Laboratory with 2 forms of patient identifiers.
2. Medical genetic clinical information is not released over the phone, faxed, or emailed without the information being verified by a clinical geneticist.
3. Medical genetic laboratory information is not released over the phone, faxed, or emailed without the information being verified by the laboratory director.
4. Clinical/laboratory information will be faxed to the referring physician, clinic, or hospital after confirmation. The patient identifier present on front fax sheet will consist of patient’s initials and date of birth or SS# or hospital number.
5. Clinical information should be mailed with signed patient consent form.
6. Clinical/laboratory testing information is not directly provided to patient, family members or non-referring physicians.
Exception: if the referring physician has given express verbal or written consent to a clinician, laboratory director or genetic counselor with verification.
7. No clinical/laboratory information is sent to private faxes or email addresses.
8. Current laboratory testing methods and performance specifications may be sent to the referring physician or clinic/hospital upon request from the laboratory director.
9. Laboratory test results may be released to a physician, hospital or clinic by an individual designated by the laboratory director.
10. Any changes in laboratory testing protocols that may significantly affect interpretations will be sent to the referring physician or clinic/hospital upon request.
ALL RELEASE OF CLINICAL/LABORATORY INFORMATION IS DOCUMENTED IN THE PATIENT’S CHART AND COMPUTER FILE. ALL CLINICAL/LABORATORY INFORMATION IS RETAINED IN A SECURED PERMANENT FORM.