Release

A release is the relief from obligation, liability, or responsibility; in legal terms, the giving up of specific rights or claims to the benefit of another. Releases in health care deal with the granting of specific rights to another, with the presumption of a benefit accruing to the patient. Releases are granted for transfer of information, care for a minor or incapacitated individual, and liability. Most release forms are available commercially.

Releases for the care of minors when parents are not immediately available have been used in the health care setting for some time. Releases for photographs or specimens for studies or teaching are commonly included in[Page 487] admission and operative consents. As individuals spell out their health care choices in premorbid documents, surrogate decision makers are assigned (the autonomy of decision making is released to the health care proxy). With the passage of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 ensuring privacy of health information (Section 264), the transfer of personal health information between providers, third-party payers, and any other appropriate and legal interested party must be granted by a release.

Releases must specifically spell out what rights are transferred and be executed by the individual surrendering those rights. In distinction, a contract is an agreement between parties that creates a duty to do or not to do something and a right to performance of that duty. Consent is the voluntary and uncoerced agreement or acquiescence by an individual with capacity and understanding.