Legal Nurses Can Protect Your Rights
Is your insurance company permitted to have access to your medical records? Do you know if they are reviewing the intimate details of your medical history and care? The answer to this is yes and in many cases it takes a legal nurse to help you.
Federal law allows this. This occurs because hospitals that receive Medicare reimbursements must participate in a Peer Review Organization System. This system provides for quality of care review to insure patients are receiving appropriate care. Hospitals must contract with a peer review organization. The peer review organization then selects patient care cases and does review of care via documentation in the medical record. The review organization in particular assess the reasonableness of the care provided as well as the adequacy of care received. While these organizations are not permitted to release your medical records to any third parties, still their employees do have access to your medical information.
Consumers should be made aware of this fact. Often, the patient has no idea who may have access to their private medical documentation. If you have questions about this, you can seek the consultation of a registered legal nurse who can provide you with more information