Strengthen Patient Rights (Step 7 of 17)

HIPAA is not only about securing health data behind the scenes — it is equally about strengthening patient rights, and empowering patients to control their own information. Strengthening patient rights is at the heart of HIPAA compliance. Providers must ensure patients can access, review, and understand how their Protected Health Information (PHI) is being used. When these rights are neglected, patients lose trust, and providers face serious regulatory risk.

Step 7: Strengthen Patient Rights – HIPAA compliance means giving patients control. Provide timely access to PHI, honor requests, track disclosures, and share clear Notices of Privacy Practices

What HIPAA Requires

Covered entities must:

• Provide PHI access within 15 days (not the older 30-day window). Patients have the right to see their health records quickly and easily.

• Support patient requests for amendments, restrictions on certain uses, or preferred methods of communication.

• Maintain an accounting of disclosures, so patients know when and why their information has been shared.

• Distribute a Notice of Privacy Practices (NPP) to every patient, clearly outlining their rights and how their PHI will be handled.
  

These requirements ensure patients remain at the center of healthcare decision-making.

The Risks of Neglecting Patient Rights

Failing to respect patient rights is not a minor oversight — it strikes at the core of HIPAA’s intent. Noncompliance can lead to:

• Civil penalties and regulatory enforcement.

• Lawsuits and complaints to the Office for Civil Rights (OCR).

• Loss of patient trust and reputational damage that may never be repaired.
  

Beyond compliance, when patients don’t feel in control of their data, they may delay care, withhold information, or leave your practice entirely. The downstream effects can harm both patient outcomes and practice sustainability.m.

How Patient Protect Helps

With Patient Protect, all patient rights are safeguarded inside the platform:

• Automated fulfillment of PHI access requests within 15 days.

• Built-in workflows for amendments, restrictions, and communication preferences.

• A living log of disclosures, always available for reporting.

• Simple distribution of a compliant, customizable NPP.
  

Instead of juggling manual processes or hoping policies are followed, practices can rely on Patient Protect to strengthen patient rights with speed, accuracy, and full compliance.

Why It Matters

Strengthening patient rights is more than a checkbox. It’s about honoring the trust patients place in you, protecting their dignity, and preventing real-world harm when data isn’t handled properly.

To understand the true impact of failing to uphold patient rights, explore our research on the long-term economic and societal consequences of ePHI exposure. Read the full paper here »

Patient Protect’s real-time ePHI audit shows exactly who viewed, edited, or exported patient records — giving you full visibility into staff activity and a defensible audit trail for HIPAA compliance.

Patient Protect Makes Patient Rights Simple

With Patient Protect, you can do more than respect patient rights — you can automate and prove them.

• Fulfill PHI access requests within 15 days, without paperwork bottlenecks

• Capture and honor amendment, restriction, and communication requests in-platform

• Maintain an always-accurate log of disclosures, exportable for audits

• Deliver and track Notices of Privacy Practices with digital confirmation
  

Instead of fragmented processes or manual recordkeeping, Patient Protect ensures every patient right is upheld and documented in one secure hub.

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Next Up: Prepare for Breaches Before They Happen (Step 8 of 17)

No matter how strong your defenses, breaches remain a reality in healthcare. In Step 8, we’ll cover how to prepare before an incident occurs — from response planning and simulations to reporting workflows that protect your practice and your patients.