If a patient wishes to hand-carry copies of her records and those of her family members, what should you do regarding her husband's records?

The appropriate course of action is to process the requests for the patient and her child while rejecting the request for her husband's records until there is proper authorization. This is because, under HIPAA, patient information is considered confidential, and medical records cannot be disclosed to anyone, including family members, without explicit consent from the individual to whom the records belong.

In this scenario, the patient is requesting access to her husband's records; however, since she does not have authorization from her husband to disclose his medical information, it is essential to maintain the confidentiality that HIPAA mandates. This approach upholds the ethical and legal standards of privacy, ensuring that the rights of the husband are respected while still accommodating the requests that are compliant with authorization requirements. By processing the patient's and child's requests, you are adhering to the rights they have to their own medical records, while also ensuring that the husband's privacy is protected until he can provide consent.