Ann Conlon-Smith posts about a request she has had from a lawyer, for client
records.  The client told her by phone that she wanted her records released
to the lawyer.

The client ought to be the person most concerned that their health care
providers are stringent about getting such requests in writing.  If the
client seems unconcerned about possible abuses of confidential material, I
might even wonder whether it was the client at all who was behind the
request.  It could just as well be the person she is suing who is trying to
get the info through devious means, in order to use it against Ann's client
in court.

Granted, Ann spoke with the client on the phone, and apparently recognized
her voice, so did not have reason to think that it could be someone
impersonating her client for an ignoble purpose.  But this does not have to
be a guessing game.  The client should request IN WRITING that the records
be sent elsewhere.  Always.  No matter who they are to be sent to.

Now to my nit-picking nature: verbal means through the use of words, and
tells us nothing about how the words are conveyed.  Oral means spoken, and
we all know what written means.  A signed written request from the person
whose records they are, should be the rule before releasing confidential
information to another party.

Rachel Myr 
Kristiansand, Norway

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