The job of protecting your medical records or health information should be of paramount importance to every healthcare provider, but what we find, in fact, is that there is an army of individuals, known as health information managers, who are primarily charged with this duty across the country.

The association that credentials health information professionals, the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) is 51,000 members strong. You can experience for yourself the zealousness and fortitude of these professionals when you request your medical records from a hospital. The health information management department, or the medical record department, of every acute care hospital is managed by staunch protectors of your health information. The first clue about how firm their grip on your information is will be the release of information (ROI) form that you must complete to obtain your own records. Proof of identification as well as a completed form, including why you want the information, is required in all cases. If someone else, like your spouse, child or parent is requesting the information on your behalf, then you will have to sign an ROI form for them to obtain the information for you.