Privacy is a fundamental right, recognized in the state and federal constitutions. Since 1983 California’s Confidentiality of Medical Information Act has guaranteed that patients can obtain their medical information from their healthcare providers with limited exceptions. The Privacy Rule permits covered entities to disclose PHI for treatment, payment, and health care operations without the need to first obtain an individual’s authorization or receive an access request by the individual to have the individual’s PHI directed to a third party for such purposes. As a result, if an individual is seeking to have her PHI shared among her treating providers, the covered entities can and should do so; the individual should not have to facilitate this transmission by submitting an access request.
Ampla patients are welcome to request copies of their records from their provider without any barriers.