decisionhealth Newsletters, Part B News - 2026 Issue 5 (May)
Patient right of access: Prepare as OCR’s enforcement campaign continues
Subscribe or sign in to view the full article.
Article Overview
This article covers HIPAA right-of-access compliance in the context of ongoing OCR enforcement and a recent settlement involving delayed records access. It explains why patient access requests remain a high-priority compliance area, what operational metrics organizations can track, and how HIM, privacy, and safety leaders can evaluate workflow readiness for current and potential future turnaround expectations. The discussion is aimed at health care compliance professionals, HIM leaders, and privacy teams responsible for request handling, process monitoring, and patient communication.
Why This Topic Matters
Delayed or incomplete access to patient records continues to draw regulatory attention, making request-tracking and response workflows a visible compliance risk for covered entities. Organizations that understand the operational pressure points discussed in the article may be better positioned to assess exposure and strengthen patient access processes.
Article Sections
-
Enforcement reality: 54 actions and counting
Discusses recent OCR enforcement activity, related compliance risk, and the importance of measuring access-request performance. It also introduces broad metrics used to assess request handling processes.
-
Prepare for a possible shift to 15 + 15
Reviews operational considerations for a shorter access-response window and the workflow challenges organizations may face. It also touches on workflow automation, patient portal use, and request routing improvements.
-
Resources
Lists external reference materials cited by the article.
What You Will Learn
- How OCR enforcement activity is affecting HIPAA patient access priorities
- Which process metrics organizations may use to monitor request handling
- What workflow areas can create delays in responding to access requests
- How organizations may think about readiness for shorter turnaround expectations
- Why patient portals and automation are relevant to access-request operations
Who Should Read This
- Health information management professionals
- Privacy officers
- Compliance leaders
- Patient access operations staff
- Health care administrators
Subscribe or sign in to view the full article.
Quick, Current, Complete - www.findacode.com