Effective Feb. 2, 2019, two forms previously issued by the Ohio Department of Medicaid for the authorization of the release of medical information must be accepted by Ohio health care providers. While the forms were developed by the Department of Medicaid, the requirement to accept the standard authorization forms applies to all medical records of all Ohio health care providers.

One form is for use with protected health information governed by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), as amended and the other is for use with information covered by 42 C.F.R. Part 2 (substance use disorder records). If properly executed by the patient (or patient representative, as applicable), these forms must now be accepted.

While health care providers are not required to adopt the forms as their own or distribute them at their facilities, they cannot insist that the provider’s own unique standard form be used to process a request instead of a properly executed standard authorization form.  

Compliance under the new rule has been required since Feb. 2, 2019. Ohio health care providers should continue to take steps to ensure the standard authorization forms are recognized and accepted by personnel.

The forms are included as an appendix to Ohio Administrative Code 5160-1-32.1. The Department of Medicaid has issued a Fact Sheet with additional information and links to the forms.