Re: Getting Medical Notes, Etc. from Doctor - Advice

[Guest guest]

I had the same problem and then I did change neurologists. The second one had

delayed a bit but her office assistant told me that if I drafted my own

letter/information, the Dr. would review it, make

changes, and send it. I did and she sent it out the next day.

Some doctors wouldn't appreciate this approach. Some doctors just don't have

the time to write things up and send in. Put yourselves in their position.

Creating letters and such must be a pain for them...it's difficult enough for

me!

It wouldn't hurt to ask if you could draft something for your doctor to review

and use. They might actually appreciate the help.

[Guest guest]

Rob,

You have every right to get ALL of your medical records when you need

them. Considering that your request might have been tied up with the

holidays, and you have made subsequent requests, I'd suggest getting

aggressive, straighten your backbone and get ballsy. Go into the doc's

office in person, demand your medical files. Say you will return the

next day at the same for a pick up.

If you still can't get them, get an attorney friend to contact the doc.

And no, not a good idea to change neurologists now, unless you have a

medical need. The staff at doctor's office are n e v e r in a hurry to

copy medical records AND then will never call you and tell you records

are ready for pickup. Who knows? Your records MAY be waiting for you

now.

~ Gretchen

[Guest guest]

,

I understand what you are saying, but I have no sympathy for how or

why any doctor is so slow. Most of us would be fired if we handled

simple paperwork in such a slow manner. As far as not having the

time, they can hire more employees like any other business, or take

less patients. I would be more understanding if this applied only to

general practitioners, but Neurologists are specialists and a large

percentage of their patients have these types of requests due to the

nature of their problems.

Rob

[Guest guest]

Gretchen,

Your suggestion is basically what things have come down to for me

(going to the office, etc.) But after going through this process of

talking the the office manager, going to the office, telling them to " have the

papers ready " , etc. I am looking for an easier way.

This process can be somewhat offensive and extremely time-consuming to a

patient,so I'm going to try a change. I will study up on HIPPA laws and send my

requests via Certified Mail. From now on, I want to establish a legal trail and

use the law to ensure the doctor does what should be done.

Rob

[Guest guest]

Just had to share this little bit of fun with the group> I don't post

often, but try to read everything.

I recently asked my MD to send copies of notes from my last half year's

visits. What I surprise when I opened them and found I could not read the

" chicken scratching " that appeared. My husband and I had a hardy chuckle out

of

it. Too bad she doesn't use a tape for dictation!

Incidentally I have been a medical secretary/transcriptionist for over 40

years and have had to read and decipher my share of MD notes!

P./NY state

[Guest guest]

Sorry I'm responding to this post so late. I don't get online very often

anymore.

As someone who used to do this very job for a living this is the information I

can provide.Your medical records are 'your's' that is true. However, they do

not belong to you. They belong to the physician or the practice. That is why,

usually, on your chart will be a stamp of the name of the practice.

You have every right to make an appointment with the office to go in and review

your chart, for accuracy. Any request for copies MUST be made in writing.

Offices should have a Request for Medical Records Release form. If they don't

you can't write a letter requesting your records.

If you want your records sent to another provider there should be no charge as

long as you give the other providers address. If you

state that you are going to pick up the copies or if you state that you want the

copies for your own personal use, the provider CAN charge you PER PAGE for your

medical records.

Some providers use a copy service, basically outsource the job to another

company. That means some stranger (they are " supposed " to

be bonded employees) is coming in and going through your chart, copying the

information and sending it out. It's different in all states but the charge per

page can be anywhere from 10 cents per page up to 75 cents per page.

Small offices do not hire extra people to do this job because the cost would be

put right on to the patient in the result of higher office visit fees, lab

costs, xrays etc.

Right now my neurologist charges over $100 for an office visit. I

can't imagine if he charged more.

I believe the time frame is different in most states but this might have changed

with the new HIPAA laws, but when I was doing this job, I had 30 days by law to

process each request. Requests for attorneys were 10-14 days.

Attorneys can be charged up to $1.75 per page (that was 7 years ago). And that

was because the cost was put back on to the patient in attorney fees and taken

out in comp case and disability winnings. (awful system isn't it?)

If you want your records to go directly to another provider for an upcoming

appointment you need to state this in your request. Highlight the date of the

appointment. Write it in red. Do whatever you need to do. They can fax the

records if they need to. You can provide fax numbers if you have them.

Anyway I hope this helps some people. You can look up each states laws and

requirements on how to obtain your medical records online but it's pretty much

the same for all.

Elaina/NY