Hi to all,

Does anyone know (and can direct me to the site?) anything about 'owership' of patient records?

Is it possible for me to go (in person) to my doctor and request the records and _carry_ them to another doctor? If I can, could you cite me the source of said ownership 'rules' or 'laws'?

Case in point - my wife is trying to change doctors and her current doctor will not release the records THEY received from her previous physician(s). Even though she had to request the copies THEY have. They say Federal law prohibits them from giving the records to the patient.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

J

-- j (jw_hsv@yahoo.com), June 19, 2001

Answers

Response to Medical Information, Please

Go to the following web site and see if any of the links listed there help you.

http://dir.yahoo.com/Health/Health_Care/Patient_s_Rights/Medical_Recor ds_Privacy/

-- TomK (tjk@cac.net), June 19, 2001.

Response to Medical Information, Please

Don't you just love our free country .Know you don't have a right to your OWN medical records .What next ?

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@slic.com), June 19, 2001.

Response to Medical Information, Please

I believe what the law says is that you own the *content* of your medical records which is not the same thing as owning the physical record. You can ask for and are supposed to receive a *copy* of your record if you're transferring to a different doctor. Most of the time they'll just have you sign a release and ship the copy directly to your new doc.

In this age of malpractice suits, billing investigations and so on no doc in his right mind is going to give away his only copy of any chart of a patient that he treated. He does NOT own the information in the chart but he does own the paper on which it is written. There's considerable law out there as to who can and cannot gain access to that info.

={(Oak)-

-- Live Oak (oneliveoak@yahoo.com), June 19, 2001.

Response to Medical Information, Please

With a written release signed by you (a letter will do), the doctor has to give you a copy of your medical record. As for the records of the other doctors, you may have to write to them for copies of your records.

-- amy (acook@in4web.com), June 19, 2001.

Response to Medical Information, Please

I don't have the answer, exactly, to your question, but I did just have this same thing come up. I needed to get a copy of a record after moving, and thought I could have a copy of it sent to me before going for a problem follow-up here. They told me I would have to send photo i.d. and a $25 fee. BUT that if my new physician requested the same information, they would fax him a copy for free. So I had to wait until I went in and fill out and sign a form which my doctor then faxed to them. I had the choice on the form of requesting all or part of what they had, including or excluding info they had gotten from previous doctors.

-- mary, in colorado (marylgarcia@aol.com), June 19, 2001.

Response to Medical Information, Please

fact: different states have different laws. correct: the doctor owns your records, and you can get the pertinent info. for example, one client of mine somehow got her records and as part of this they noted the fact that she had a tatoo and a body piercing on her MEDICAL record (does this imply she is "one of those" or a "bad mom" or a suspect birth client?). In Illinois, the law was at one time (because we had someone research it) that medical records could be transfered to a DOCTOR, but whether you had access to them personally depended upon your personal doctor, and the only way to get them if your doctor said no was to get an attorney and file a court order requesting this info...and then after a lot of money, you could get them. we got ahold of one client's records because she had a friend in another state who was a doctor of something completely unrelated that sent a request and a release and it was granted. this friend gave them to us. ta da! simple, beat around the bush, and cost us nothing.

-- marcee king (thathope@mwt.net), June 19, 2001.

Response to Medical Information, Please

I think that noting tatoos and body piercings would come under "identifying marks". Like if a person is found dead, it helps to identify the body. Some people have reactions to the dyes used in tatoos -- it should be noted in the chart for that reason as well.

-- Joy F [in So. Wisconsin] (CatFlunky@excite.com), June 19, 2001.

Response to Medical Information, Please

tatoos and body piercing artist don't always sterilize thier equipment and some times help with the spread of blood born pathagins. This information needs to be on your medical records so if you develop problems later on, they can test for them. And yes, most places you can ask for a copy of your medical records, but not the orginal records thereselves, but check into your states laws, they do differ from state to state.

-- becky w (dandelion_01@hotmail.com), June 19, 2001.

Response to Medical Information, Please

Hi J,,From my studies as a Health Information Technician (college) you now have the right to a copy of all of your medical records. New laws for "Patient's Rights" have already been passed and more laws on the subject are on the government agenda. Some doctors are hanging on to old "ways" and make it difficult to get records. It is too bad that everyone else (insurance agencys, other physicians, law officers, etc,) can get our health records without a lot of hassel, but the patient has to struggle to get their own information. I have always resented that. Just stick to your guns,,you have the right to a copy of your Health Records.***(their is some information that is held and protected for patients, such as those with Aids.) Just get on the internet and type in "Patient's Rights",,you will find all kinds of information...I had to do essays on that and found most all of my information on internet...I have to dig into my college papers and find some sites for you...later,,,and don't give up,,Take care,,Patsy

-- Patsy, MT (cozyhollow-gal@care2.com), June 20, 2001.

Response to Medical Information, Please

You should be able to request a copy of your records. Now the Dr may only be willing to send a copy to another doctor, but you should be able to transfer them. Also the doctor could simply say no regardless of the law, but since its usually a civil matter then you would have to fight it in court.

I know my DR said he didnt want any old records, just more paper work to manage and since my family didnt have any "abnormal" illness or conditions it wasnt important to him.

-- Gary (gws@redbird.net), June 20, 2001.

I am a paralegal with a small law firm and although we don't practice that type of law, one of the lawyers here that I spoke to said you are entitled to a copy of your records; however, not all items in the file must be copied. Only the test results, etc.

Much of a file...just like at the lawyer's office....is considered "work product" and cannot generally even be subpeoned at trial. Those would include all the intake sheets that a doctor fills out each visit you see him on (the ones where they jot down your blood pressure, doctor's notes, etc.)Although some doctor will release those if requested. Those records are considered to be the property of the doctor..not the patient.

-- Karen (db0421@yahoo.com), June 20, 2001.

Until it was in the news, I never really knew there were laws about it!! Of the several times I changed doctors over the course of my life, it was a simple matter of filling out a form and taking the files. Then, just before I moved, my doctor told me I couldn't even SEE my records, and would have to have my new doctor fill out a form, which I had to sign, in order for them to be transferred. There is something awfully wrong when you can't even view your own records!!!

I don't know what the sites are, but I DO know the issue is before Congress about allowing them to be on the web...

-- Sue Diederich (willow666@rocketmail.com), June 22, 2001.