For Patients

• Minor Consent – Background for Patients
• Providing Consent
• Providing Consent: SAMHSA (CFR Part 2)
• Providing Consent: RHIO-wide Denial
• Protecting Patient Privacy
• Audit Reports Available Upon Request
• Data Sources

Rochester RHIO preserves parental rights to provide consent for their minor children, while still supporting the minor's ability to control which doctors can view their health information through the RHIO during or as a result of an emancipating event. Rochester RHIO allows existing parental consents to be enforced for their minor children until the minor experiences a minor-consented service. During this type of service, the attending clinician will provide the minor with a new Minor RHIO Consent Form and inform them of their consent options. The minor will complete the form. The Minor Consent form MUST be faxed or mailed to the Rochester RHIO for processing.
 

Note: Minor consent forms are tracked manually and cannot be part of auto-consenting. 

If the minor chooses NO, only emergency access will be allowed. If the minor chooses YES, doctors are approved to view their information through the Rochester RHIO. Information available through the RHIO may include minor-consented information and will not be re-disclosed to parents.

1. Decide if you want your doctor/provider to have access to your health care record through the RHIO's secure health information exchange.
2. View a sample Patient Consent Form. (English | Spanish)
3. Complete the Patient Consent Form at your next doctor's office visit.

SAMHSA (CFR Part 2) - Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

With a signed Rochester RHIO standard consent form, provider organizations and/or health plans chosen by the patient may access ALL of a patient’s ePHI (electronic Personal Health Information) available through the Rochester RHIO, including sensitive health information. This includes sensitive health information that is covered under SAMHSA, 42 CFR Part 2, a federal regulation. SAMHSA governs confidentiality of certain substance use patient records maintained in connection with the performance of federally assisted programs or activities.

This includes:

• PHI created before/after the date the consent form is signed.
• List of medications taken by the patient.
• Sensitive health conditions, including, but not limited to:
  • Alcohol or drug use
  • Birth control and abortion (family planning)
  • Genetic (inherited) diseases or tests
  • HIV/AIDS
  • Mental health conditions
  • Sexually transmitted diseases

Rochester RHIO’s consent form complies with SAMSHA regulations and has been approved by the New York State Department of Health. SAMHSA prohibits re-disclosure of Part 2 Data without proper authorization.

If you have any questions about who has seen your information in Rochester RHIO, audit reports are available upon request. For other questions, please call Customer Support at 1-877-865-7446 (RHIO). You can also contact the Rochester RHIO Privacy Officer.

RHIO-Wide Denial

For patients who choose to deny ALL providers access to their clinical information through RHIO services gated by patient consent, a RHIO-Wide Denial of Access, or Change Denial of Access, form must be notarized and submitted to the Rochester RHIO directly. *This form prevents user access even in the event of an emergency.* The RHIO-Wide Denial forms cannot be submitted by a physician or provider. The patient must call and submit the RHIO-Wide Denial form to the Rochester RHIO directly.

• RHIO Wide Denial Access
• RHIO-Wide Change Denial Access

To submit a notarized RHIO-Wide Denial Access form (or change), please call Customer Support at 1-877-865-7446 (RHIO). Fax number: 1-585-410-6801.

Note: Patients consenting to other RHIOs in New York State should reach out to those RHIOs directly to modify consent for service area providers outside of the greater Rochester and Finger Lakes regions. For a list of other RHIOS throughout New York, go to NYeC.org.

The Rochester RHIO is a fully, accredited Qualified Entity of the Statewide Health Information Network of New York (SHIN-NY).

Protecting Patient Privacy

As always, your personal health information is protected by doctor-patient confidentiality, the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and state privacy regulations. The RHIO's exchange employs the most advanced information safeguards available, and gives patients the ability to audit their records and see which health care providers have accessed their information.

In addition, the RHIO conducts its own audits on a periodic basis to ensure proper use of the exchange by authorized users. Audit results are available to the public upon request.

Audit Reports Available Upon Request

Patients can request a report of anyone who has viewed their health information through the Rochester RHIO's health information exchange. There is no charge for an audit report (one per year).  

For further information, refer to the Rochester RHIO Audit Policy.

To request an audit, or to get more information, please call the RHIO Support Center at 1-877-865-7446 (RHIO).

Data Sources

Where does the RHIO get it's data from? What are the data sources for patient information? For a specific list of data sources, go to the Data Sources page.

The RHIO's exchange contains patient information from major health care organizations, including hospital systems, reference labs, radiology centers, and payers in the Greater Rochester area.