Consumer control includes all of the following EXCEPT

• A. patients can learn who has accessed their records.
• B. patients can correct errors in their medical records.
• C. covered entities must honor the request to not report a visit to insurance companies regardless of payment methods.
• D. patients have the right to request a copy of their personal electronic medical record.

Answer: (C)

Consumer control means patients have power over their health information and how it’s used. They can see who has accessed their records through an accounting of disclosures, they can request corrections to errors in their files, and they can obtain copies of their electronic medical records. They can also request restrictions on disclosures to others, such as health plans, but these restrictions aren’t absolute. A blanket requirement that a covered entity must refrain from reporting a visit to an insurer regardless of how the patient paid isn’t correct. HIPAA allows restrictions to disclosures to a health plan only in limited situations—typically when the patient pays out-of-pocket in full for the service—and these restrictions aren’t guaranteed in all scenarios. That makes the statement about not reporting to insurers the one that doesn’t fit the broader concept of consumer control.