the HREC should be retained by the activity until
disposition is completed. The HREC will then be
forwarded to the cognizant office of medical affairs or
to the activity designated by the Commandant of the
Marine Corps (CMC) for Marine Corps members. In
instances where the parent activity retains the HREC, a
summary of the hospitalization will be entered on an
SF 600 when the member returns to duty.
When a member is hospitalized at a medical
facility of a foreign nation, an entry of this fact should
be made in the HREC. The HREC should be retained
on board and continued until the patient either returns
to duty or is transferred to another U.S. Navy vessel or
U.S. military activity. Upon departure of the vessel
from the port, the HREC should be delivered to the
commanding officer for inclusion in the member’s
service record for forwarding to the nearest U.S.
embassy or consulate.
SECURITY AND SAFEKEEPING OF
MEDICAL RECORDS
LEARNING OBJECTIVE:
Recall
security and safekeeping procedures for
medical records.
Each MTF or medical department develops
policies to ensure that medical records are secure and a
patient’s privacy is protected.
Security and
safekeeping are major concerns and responsibilities of
staff handling medical records. The medical record
contains information that is personal to patients,
treated as privileged information, and protected by the
Privacy Act of 1974. The Privacy Act of 1974 protects
a patient’s right to privacy in respect to personal
medical information. The Privacy Act permits only the
patients and their legal representatives to obtain this
information.
Medical facilities or departments should take
precautions to avoid compromise of medical
information during the movement and storage of
medical records. Medical records should be handled
by only authorized medical service personnel.
Records should be stored in a locked area, room, or file
to ensure safekeeping, unless there is a 24-hour watch
in the records room. Refer to the MANMED for more
detailed guidelines on medical record security and
safekeeping.
RELEASING MEDICAL INFORMATION
LEARNING OBJECTIVE:
Recognize
g u i d e l i n e s f o r re l e a s i n g m e d i c a l
information.
The Surgeon General (also titled Director, Naval
Medicine) is the official responsible for administering
and supervising the execution of SECNAVINST
5211.5, Department of the Navy Privacy Act Program
(PAP), as it pertains to the Health Care Treatment
Record System. Additionally, the Office of the
Surgeon General authorizes requests for access and
amendment to naval members’ medical and dental
records.
Commanding officers of Navy MTFs are
designated as local systems managers for medical
records maintained and serviced within their activities.
Local systems managers are authorized to release
information from health records located within the
command if proper credentials have been established.
The requesting office or individual will be advised that
such information is private and must be treated with
confidentiality. In all cases where information is
disclosed, an entry must be made on OPNAV Form
5211/9, Record of Disclosure-Privacy Act of 1974, and
should include the date, nature and purpose of the
disclosure, and the name and address of the person or
agency receiving the information. Maintain a copy of
any such disclosure requests.
GUIDELINES FOR RELEASING MEDICAL
INFORMATION
In the following paragraphs, we cover the policy
for release of record transcripts. As will be noted, the
appropriate rule for release to be implemented depends
upon the intended recipient of the record transcript.
1. Release to the Public. Information contained
in medical records of individuals who have undergone
medical or dental examination or treatment is personal
to the individual and considered private and privileged
in nature. Consequently, disclosure of such information
to the public would constitute an unwarranted invasion
of personal privacy. Such information is exempt from
release under the Freedom of Information Act.
However, MTF commanding officers may release
some information to the public or the press without the
patient’s or patient’s next of kin’s (NOK) consent. This
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