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Our So-Called Right to Medical Records -- cost me $35 to get some copies
As folks who have read my posts probably know by now, nothing gets me quite as worked up as how the medical industry handles HIPPA, patient privacy and our medical records. Now to add insult to injury I was asked to cough up $35 by my wife's OB to get a copy of her medical records so that she could go to another doctor. I really had no choice. If I refused, then her new doctor would have sub-optimal information about her, and have to run the tests she's already had all over again, and our little unborn baby might face obstacles he/she doesn't need to face. So I swallowed my pride, and my anger, and forked over the $35 to have the privilege of getting a copy of my wife's own medical records handed to her in person at the doctor's office. Does this strike anyone else as borderline criminal?
end rant.
end rant.
Views: 442
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Judy on
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Unfortunately, its legal, HIPAA allows "a reasonable fee" to be charged. The only way to avoid it is to request that the records be sent directly to the new doctor (and that is no guaranttee all will be sent, or that they will be sent in a timely manner - and sometimes they will even charge for sending to a fellow doctor despite professional courtesy usually discourages such charges). Unfortunately, they have us by the short hairs. Our medical records belong to the generating facility or doctor and we only have a legal right to COPIES, not the originals. *sigh*
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Permalink Reply by sleepycarol on
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I have been told it is because the records "belong" to the doctor. In my opinion, the records should be ours and the doctor just the keeper. Of course when we had a local doctor here leave town in the middle of the night due to past due bills he just left the records in his garage for anyone and everyone who cared could read them. My daughter-in-law worked for him and that is how we learned of this fiasco. Oh by the way, they never finished paying her either -- so go figure.
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Permalink Reply by Mike on
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We in fact had asked that it be forwarded directly to the other doctor. It was only after they screwed that up and it slipped through the cracks and we got blank stares did we insist on getting our own copies. As i always was taught, if you can't get it done right by someone else, do it yourself.
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so i have to pay $35 to every doctor who can't get their sh*t together enough to send files by e-mail? and you know that when the doctors' lobbyist group goes to Washington to slow down the process of moving to electronic records, the person they say this is all done for? Me, the Patient, to protect my Privacy. Pure B.S.
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Permalink Reply by Dan Lyons on
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You pay once, you pay twice, wait for the kiss. I would get my $35 back in bad publicity for the doctor. I would make sure that he/she was aware that I would make it publicly known.
The best publicity a person/doctor can get is the free type - word of mouth. Potential patients will think twice about a selection if they have heard negative information about a physician.
In this day an age of electronic media, I would search out a local blog and post a notice there.
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I'll post the receipt here for starters. But this is a bigger issue than me or my doctor.
Dan Lyons said:You pay once, you pay twice, wait for the kiss. I would get my $35 back in bad publicity for the doctor. I would make sure that he/she was aware that I would make it publicly known.
The best publicity a person/doctor can get is the free type - word of mouth. Potential patients will think twice about a selection if they have heard negative information about a physician.
In this day an age of electronic media, I would search out a local blog and post a notice there.
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ok, as much as i'd like to drag this doctor's name through the muck, my wife is asking me not to, so i redacted all the identifiers here and am posting the receipt without them. but if it were not for my wife and it was 100% my call, i'd post it with the doctor's name in a heartbeat:
Mike said:I'll post the receipt here for starters. But this is a bigger issue than me or my doctor.
Dan Lyons said:You pay once, you pay twice, wait for the kiss. I would get my $35 back in bad publicity for the doctor. I would make sure that he/she was aware that I would make it publicly known.
The best publicity a person/doctor can get is the free type - word of mouth. Potential patients will think twice about a selection if they have heard negative information about a physician.
In this day an age of electronic media, I would search out a local blog and post a notice there.
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The reaction your wife has expresses is the exact reaction that these societal leeches rely on. There is strength in numbers.
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They do seem to be all over the place in what they charge from state to state and it looks like they are being sued for it.
http://www.lamblawoffice.com/medical-records-copying-charges.html
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I've never heard of such a thing.I leave in S. Florida and I've always been told our medical records "belong" to us, and we have a complete right to them. I have never had to pay anyone for records.
When I go to the doctor and have test done blood work, artery/vein studies I always ask for copies of the reports to pass on to my other doctors.
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They don't HAVE to charge you. They CAN charge you. My experience has been that if it is just a matter of one or two pages from a particular procedure or lab work they don't bother to charge you. If it is a full, big heavy file they might charge you if you are asking for it for your personal records but if they are asked to provide it to a fellow doctor they don't charge as a matter of professional courtesy. IF the records are requested for a legal reason such as disability, workmen's compensation, etc. and are going to a lawyer they usually charge a considerable amount, more than they would charge you as an individual.
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i can understand them some nominal copying fee. But this was $35 for about 50 pages.
Judy said:They don't HAVE to charge you. They CAN charge you. My experience has been that if it is just a matter of one or two pages from a particular procedure or lab work they don't bother to charge you. If it is a full, big heavy file they might charge you if you are asking for it for your personal records but if they are asked to provide it to a fellow doctor they don't charge as a matter of professional courtesy. IF the records are requested for a legal reason such as disability, workmen's compensation, etc. and are going to a lawyer they usually charge a considerable amount, more than they would charge you as an individual.
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