The HIPAA Research Authorization template has been updated with one big and a couple of little changes. The revised form is now posted on the IRB’s website’s “Templates, Training, and Tools” page.
The little changes include some minor wording changes to clarify what we’re trying to convey in the form. Specifically, we now state that the information we collect will be collected either from you or from your health record; previously we mentioned only the health record. We’ve also clarified the language about revoking one’s authorization in that section’s overline. The previous version talked about quitting the study, which wasn’t quite accurate; this language addressed revoking the authorization, not quitting the study.
The big change — we’ve now added an email option to revoke HIPAA authorizations. You may recall that until now, the IRB has required actual letters to be mailed to revoke a HIPAA authorization. That’s so…quaint. We’ve moved into the modern age and are now allowing revocations to be sent by email, which is a more common and convenient way for people to communicate these days. Note that the revocation address is irb@uams.edu; the IRB office staff will contact study teams if/when we receive a revocation request.
Please use this new template when developing HIPAA authorization forms. Its use will save you some contingencies.