Your right to test results--and at no additional charge?

[Guest guest]

Roni said in a post yesterday that if you ask for your test results, the doc

legally has to give them to you.

I'm on Medicare/Disability, so additional regulations may apply; don't know:

But I was really pissed recently to find that, after a uro appointment at Duke's

Private Diagnostic Clinics (where even docs who don't have privileges at Duke

can pay to trade on the name!!), they simply wouldn't send my medical record.

All they do is post your test numbers online. Even my " home " uro had major

trouble getting any further info from the " Duke " doctor.

More of my docs are starting to charge for first-time copies of my " med

record " --75 cents for each of the first 50 pages, then 50 cents each...

And the record consists of my test results.

Does anyone know (confidently) whether we aren't entitled to a first written

copy of results as part of the service? What are we having tests for if OUR

info can't be ours?

And are we entitled to get clinical notes--which I think is the term for

anything beyond test results? How do we know the doctor has really heard our

descriptions of symptoms correctly, without these, as one example?

Thanks,

_________________________________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Here's some info I found:

 

http://www.cancer.org/docroot/mit/content/mit_3_2_patients_bill_of_rights.asp

 

http://patients.about.com/od/yourmedicalrecords/a/getmedrecords_2.htm

 

Some of the information in these things deals with getting medical records from

institutions like Duke. There are forms you can fill out to obtain these

records. These articles are a bit wordy.

 

 

<>Roni

Immortality exists!

It's called knowledge!

 

Just because something isn't seen

doesn't mean it's not there<>

From: brian cooper <brianevans_99@...>

Subject: Your right to test results--and at no additional

charge?

hypothyroidism

Date: Saturday, May 8, 2010, 8:05 AM

Roni said in a post yesterday that if you ask for your test results, the doc

legally has to give them to you.

I'm on Medicare/Disability, so additional regulations may apply; don't know:

But I was really pissed recently to find that, after a uro appointment at Duke's

Private Diagnostic Clinics (where even docs who don't have privileges at Duke

can pay to trade on the name!!), they simply wouldn't send my medical record. 

All they do is post your test numbers online.  Even my " home " uro had major

trouble getting any further info from the " Duke " doctor.

More of my docs are starting to charge for first-time copies of my " med

record " --75 cents for each of the first 50 pages, then 50 cents each...

And the record consists of my test results.

Does anyone know (confidently) whether we aren't entitled to a first written

copy of results as part of the service?  What are we having tests for if OUR

info can't be ours?

And are we entitled to get clinical notes--which I think is the term for

anything beyond test results?  How do we know the doctor has really heard our

descriptions of symptoms correctly, without these, as one example?

Thanks,

_________________________________________________________________________

     

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