When the subject individual requests a review in person, another individual of their
choosing may accompany them. In some cases, you may need to discuss with the appointed
representative what documents they need before providing information from file. You
may also suggest that the appointed representative come to the field office (FO) to
review the file, to determine which items to copy.
See 20 CFR
401.40; 20 CFR
401.55; and AIMS, GAM 14.03 for more information pertaining to the handling of access requests,
including special procedures regarding medical records.
FO staff normally copies all material made available to a requester. We may allow
a visitor, to whom we are releasing information, operate our photocopy equipment when
the following requirements are met:
-
•
FO management approves the arrangements;
-
•
information in the file pertaining to other individuals is removed from the file before
photocopying or burning to a CD, if there is no authorization to disclose; and
-
•
FO management arranges for FO staff to monitor the appointed representative's handling
of the file to ensure that they do not remove original material from the file.
EXAMPLE:The authorization only provides for release of information about beneficiary “A,”
and there is information concerning beneficiary “B” in the file. We must remove all
material pertaining to B before allowing the requester to photocopy the file.
NOTE:We do not recommend providing documents such as Master Beneficiary Record (MBR) printouts
and other output query screens (administrative) to the appointed representative. If
the appointed representative specifically requests that copies of such screens or
queries be included, we recommend providing the information in another format, other
than a copy of the query screenshot. If we can provide the specific information the
appointed representative requests in another manner, there is no obligation to provide
a query. Disclosure of queries to appointed representatives should be a rare occurrence.
When disclosing queries to appointed representatives, we should follow the same procedures
described in GN 03305.004B and GN 03305.004C for disclosing queries to third parties with consent.