| Course | HI135 Legal Aspects of Health Information |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 7 |
| Paper type | Amendment response letter |
| Length | About 750 words, 5 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | BS in Health Information Management |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for HI135 Unit 7
The Allergy Comes Off the List and the 2009 Note Stays: A Unit 7 Amendment Response Letter Accepting a Patient's Request in Part After a Negative Penicillin Challenge, and Telling Her Who Will Be Told
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
HI135: Legal Aspects of Health Information
Unit 7 Amendment Response Letter
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The patient, the clinic and the dates are composite; the amendment rule, the allergy evidence and the sources cited are real.
The Letter
Dear Ms. A. K., We received your written request on May 6 asking us to remove the penicillin allergy from your medical record. You told us that on April 22 an allergist at another practice gave you amoxicillin under observation, that you had no reaction, and that you were told you are not allergic to penicillin. You enclosed the allergist's report. We have accepted your request in part. Your active allergy list no longer shows a penicillin allergy. It now records that penicillin allergy was ruled out by an oral amoxicillin challenge on April 22, with the allergist's report attached. Every clinician who opens your chart will see that you can safely receive penicillin-type antibiotics. We have not deleted the emergency department note from June 2009 that records the hives you reported after taking amoxicillin as a teenager. Dr. R., your primary care physician, reviewed the note with us. It accurately records what you and your mother reported that day and what the physician did. Medical records keep accurate notes of what happened at the time, even when later testing changes the picture. Your updated allergy list now explains that the 2009 reaction was not a true allergy, so the old note can no longer mislead anyone. You have the right to send us a written statement disagreeing with our decision not to delete the 2009 note, and to explain why. If you do, we will add it to your record and include it, or a summary of it, whenever we share that part of your record. If you choose not to send a statement, you may ask that your request and this letter be included whenever we share the 2009 note. You may also complain to our privacy officer at the address below, or to the federal Office for Civil Rights, which enforces the privacy rule. Your care will not be affected in any way by a complaint. With your permission, we will tell the people you choose that your allergy list has changed. We will also tell those we know have your allergy information and may rely on it: your pharmacy, the orthopedic surgery practice where you are scheduled in June, and the regional health information exchange. Please call us if there is anyone else you would like us to notify. Sincerely, Privacy and Release of Information Office The amendment changes what the next clinician sees without pretending the 2009 visit happened differently.
File Note: Basis for the Decision
The request was received May 6 and answered May 21, inside the sixty days the rule allows (45 C.F.R. § 164.526, 2024). The rule lets a covered entity deny an amendment when the information is accurate and complete. The 2009 note meets that test as a record of what was reported and done that day; the active allergy list does not, since it presented a ruled-out allergy as current. Accepting the list change and denying deletion of the historical note follows the rule's structure: amend what is inaccurate now, keep what accurately recorded the past. The clinical reason to act quickly is strong. Roughly one American in ten carries a reported penicillin allergy, yet clinically significant allergy is found in fewer than 5 percent of those evaluated, and an unverified label often leads to broader, less effective antibiotics (Shenoy et al., 2019). Ms. K. has knee surgery in June, when the choice of preoperative antibiotic depends on this entry.
File Note: Notifications
Under the rule, an accepted amendment must be passed to persons the patient identifies and to persons, including business associates, known to have the information who may have relied on it. The pharmacy, the surgery practice and the health information exchange were identified from the release log and the chart's referral record. Notifications go out after Ms. K. confirms the list by phone.
File Note: Complaint Information
The letter's complaint paragraph follows the rule requiring covered entities to provide a process for complaints and to refrain from retaliating against anyone who uses it (45 C.F.R. § 164.530, 2024).
References
45 C.F.R. § 164.526 (2024). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-45/section-164.526
45 C.F.R. § 164.530 (2024). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-45/section-164.530
Shenoy, E. S., Macy, E., Rowe, T., & Blumenthal, K. G. (2019). Evaluation and management of penicillin allergy: A review. JAMA, 321(2), 188-199. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2018.19283
What the HI135 Unit 7 assignment asks for
Unit 7 typically asks you to write a letter responding to a patient's request to amend their record. Restate the request and the date received, give the decision early, accepted, accepted in part or denied, and explain the basis in plain language. If any part is denied, explain the patient's right to submit a statement of disagreement, to have the request accompany future disclosures and to complain, including to the federal government. If any part is accepted, explain what changed and who will be informed. Respond within the federal time limit and note it. Many sections also ask for a brief internal note explaining the decision. Write for a reader outside health care and keep the letter to one page.
How the HI 135 Unit 7 example is put together
The letter restates the patient's request and enclosure, then gives the decision in its second paragraph. It describes the updated allergy list, explains why the 2009 note stays and how the new entry prevents it from misleading anyone, and sets out the patient's rights for the denied part. A paragraph names three recipients of the correction and invites her to add others. A highlighted line follows the signature. The file note gives the timeline and the accurate-and-complete basis, cites evidence that most reported penicillin allergies are not true allergies, and explains the notification and complaint steps, with margin notes on decision placement, clinical stakes and the named recipients.
Where the points sit in the HI135 Unit 7 rubric
Amendment letters are usually graded on correctness and clarity. Points go to a timely response, an early and unambiguous decision and a basis the patient can understand. Credit rises for complete rights language when any part is denied and for correct notification steps when any part is accepted. Instructors value letters that separate what is inaccurate now from what accurately recorded the past. Plain language, appropriate tone and a short internal rationale add marks. Accurate citations of the federal amendment rule complete the rubric. Letters that deny without explaining rights, or that delete historical entries, lose the most points. Graders often check that the letter states the date the request arrived, since the time limit runs from it.
Common HI135 Unit 7 mistakes, and how to avoid them
Students often write curt denials that list a regulation and stop. Explain the decision in words a patient can follow and lay out every right. Another error is treating an amendment as deletion; corrections are added and linked, and accurate historical notes stay. Remember the notification duties when you accept a change. Do not let the letter blame the patient or the clinician who wrote the original entry. State the date received and keep to the time limit. A different disputed entry needs its own reasoning; give us the request and the chart facts and we can draft the letter with its internal note.
Get an HI135 Unit 7 example written to your instructions
Paste the patient's request and any chart excerpt your Unit 7 scenario provides, along with the instructions and your rubric. Accepted, partial or denied, the custom letter follows the facts you were given, and your first sample is free. It reaches you within 24-48h, written in plain language a patient could actually follow. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
More HI135 papers and BS in Health Information Management samples
- HI135 Unit 1: Discussion Board Post
- HI135 Unit 2: Authorization Review
- HI135 Unit 3: Release of Information Case
- HI135 Unit 4: Privacy Notice Comparison
- HI135 Unit 5: Retention Schedule
- HI135 Unit 6: Seminar Reflection
- HI135 Unit 8: Breach Notification Memo
- HI135 Unit 9: Disclosure Log Entry
- HI135 Unit 10: Privacy Policy Draft
HI135 Unit 7 questions, answered
Should the letter ever accept the amendment?
When the facts support it, yes, and some sections build the scenario that way. An accepted amendment still leaves the original visible: the letter explains that a correction has been added and linked, names the people the patient asked to be told, and confirms they will be notified. The example chose a denial because it exercises more of the patient's rights in writing.
How long does the facility have to respond?
The federal rule sets an outer window of sixty days, with a single thirty-day extension when the patient is told the reason in writing, and some states set tighter limits. The letter on this page states the date the request arrived and the date of the reply, so a reader can see the window was met. Use the dates in your own scenario rather than assuming a typical case.
Where can I find a free HI135 Unit 7 sample paper?
This page holds the full Unit 7 letter accepting the request in part, with the internal file note.
Can a patient have an inaccurate entry deleted from their record?
Usually the entry is amended rather than deleted: a correction is added and linked so later readers see both, while accurate historical notes remain.
Who must be told when an amendment is accepted?
People the patient names and those known to have the information who may rely on it, such as a pharmacy, another practice or a health information exchange.