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Contacting client's doctor

I have been seeing a client weekly for a few months and he recently had a surgery that I'm not familiar with involving deep scar tissue in his abdomen. This surgery left a 4 to 5 inch incision and I want to contact his doctor for treatment advice so I know I'm helping him heal correctly.
I am unsure as to how to go about asking for this information. Do I ask the nurses that answer the phone or ask to speak directly to the doctor?

Thank you for your help.

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Permalink Reply by Joyce Young on January 27, 2013 at 4:47pm

Without a doubt, you need to get WRITTEN permission from the client to contact their physician. This will have to be sent over to the doctor before they even begin to talk to you.

Please refer to the HIPPA laws: http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy

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Permalink Reply by Amanda James on January 27, 2013 at 5:54pm

I understand this but what I don't know is the next step.

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Permalink Reply by Joyce Young on January 28, 2013 at 1:23pm

There are plenty of HIPPA waiver form examples on the web, it shouldn't be a problem to get one.

(Insurance people, please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong!!)

You need to determine if you need a legal medical record (that is everything on the patient) or an abstract (concerning only the issue you are looking into). Now, from my understanding if the patient requests this information from their doctor they may not be charged a fee for an abstract/file to be produced. However, if you are requesting it, they may charge you.

Also, when you receive the file you have to follow HIPPA rules in it's protection and/or destruction. Contact the link I gave you and they should help you through the proper procedures.