---
title: "Respond to a patient's request for access to protected health information"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/health-and-medical-law/respond-to-a-patient-s-request-for-access-to-their-health-records/united-states"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A32-T20261018-15-US"
practice_area: "Health & Medical Law"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["US"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-22"
---

# Respond to a patient's request for access to protected health information

> Log the date the request was received, whether it asks to inspect or to obtain a copy, the form and format requested, and the 30-day date. List records the lawyer has marked as outside the designated record set.…

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/health-and-medical-law/respond-to-a-patient-s-request-for-access-to-their-health-records/united-states  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-22

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area | [Health & Medical Law](https://ailawframework.com/practice/health-and-medical-law.md) |
| Human involvement | Yellow: Lawyer and AI draft together |
| How AI is used | Log the date the request was received, whether it asks to inspect or to obtain a copy, the form and format requested, and the 30-day date. List records the lawyer has marked as outside the designated record set. Do not release records. |
| What the lawyer must review | 45 CFR § 164.524(b) requires a covered entity to act no later than 30 days after receipt, by granting access or giving a written denial, unless it uses the single extension of no more than 30 days and, within the original time, gives a written statement of the reasons and the completion date. Access is to protected health information in a designated record set. If access is granted, § 164.524(c) requires the form and format the individual requested when it is readily producible. Section 164.502(a)(2)(i) makes disclosure to the individual, when § 164.524 requires it, a required disclosure. You decide exceptions, identity, and the scope, and you approve every release. |
| Written for | United States |
| Applies to | [Respond to a patient's request for access to their health records](https://ailawframework.com/practice/health-and-medical-law/respond-to-a-patient-s-request-for-access-to-their-health-records.md) |

## Checking plan

- What the AI does: Log the date the request was received, whether it asks to inspect or to obtain a copy, the form and format requested, and the 30-day date. List records the lawyer has marked as outside the designated record set. Do not release records.
- Basis: Checked against the linked sources on 22 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance.

## Notes

- A denial must follow § 164.524(d). This check did not restate the grounds for denial.
- Psychotherapy notes and other exclusions sit in the regulation. Open them before refusing a category.

## Sources

- [45 CFR § 164.524 (access of individuals to protected health information)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-45/subtitle-A/subchapter-C/part-164/subpart-E/section-164.524) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [45 CFR § 164.502 (uses and disclosures of protected health information)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-45/subtitle-A/subchapter-C/part-164/subpart-E/section-164.502) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [HHS: HIPAA covered entities and business associates](https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/covered-entities/index.html) (checked 2026-10-22)

## Forms and precedents for this task

| Form or precedent | Kind | AI level | Summary |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Notice of privacy practices review](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/health-and-medical-law/us-npp-review.md) | Checklist | Yellow | Review list for the required elements of a HIPAA notice of privacy practices under 45 CFR 164.520(b). It checks a draft. It is not the notice that is distributed. |

Signed-in accounts can read the full text of each one.

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*