Talking to a parent's doctor: what HIPAA allows
Who can see a parent's medical records after they die?
The executor or administrator of their estate, or the person a court or state law authorizes to act for them, HHS says.
HHS says: “When an individual dies, the personal representative for the deceased is the executor or administrator of the deceased individual’s estate, or the person who is legally authorized by a court or by state law to act on the behalf of the deceased individual or his or her estate.”
That person has the personal representative’s access to records (what a personal representative can see). Who that is in your family’s case depends on the will and on state law, which an estate or elder law attorney can explain.
More questions caregivers ask
- Does a health care power of attorney let me see my parent's records?
- Can I get a copy of my parent's medical records?
- Does my parent's doctor have to tell me anything?
- All the questions
From Centis, a free care notebook you talk to. This is general information from HHS’s own pages, not legal advice; state law can make a difference.
Further reading
- Personal Representatives (opens in a new tab), from the US Department of Health and Human Services