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Now What? Dr.Won't release medical records
select-fire
Member Posts: 69,453 ✭✭✭✭
My wife went to another Dr. after she refused to go back to her former one. Her new DR. has requested medical records since Nov. 12th and has proof thru a fax two times. How do I get these important medical records from one Dr. to the new one?
Comments
have your wife walk in and pick them up. Thats all I did when I needed them. They even copied them for me.
Sorry, they charged her 20 bucks for an itemized list but the 60 some pages would not be released. I am starting to get pissed and it isn't smart to piss me off.
quote:Originally posted by shoff14
have your wife walk in and pick them up. Thats all I did when I needed them. They even copied them for me.
Sorry, they charged her 20 bucks for an itemized list but the 60 some pages would not be released. I am starting to get pissed and it isn't smart to piss me off.
Yeah, that would piss me off too. Go do some [}:)] on them. [:0][:D]
All the releases were signed Nov. 12th. Her new Dr. is also pissed. I think I will go see a Magistrate and get a court order.
Good idea, I always thought the med records were the property of the patient. This can be dangerous, (holding records), especially if her life is depending on them.
I bet it will be a relief when she is finally.....HISTORY.
Go get em, you can do more damage with a well thought out startegy than running in like a bull in a china shop.
I might have ran out of patience by now.
If the Doc is working at a hospital they probably have some type of patient advocate you can go see. For sure your state has a agency in place to spank doctors.
Go get em, you can do more damage with a well thought out startegy than running in like a bull in a china shop.
I might have ran out of patience by now.
Agreed. Legally, I don't think they can withhold these records.
you are right...45 days....
SC State Laws Pertaining to Charges for Requested Patient Records
The following sections of the South Carolina Code of Laws are excerpts regarding the charges allowed for providing patient record copies to an assortment of requestors. Selecting one of the links below will open the entire section from which it has been extracted.
SECTION 44-7-325. Fee for search and duplication of medical record; time limits for compliance with request for record.
(A) A health care facility, as defined in Section 44-7-130, and a health care provider licensed pursuant to Title 40 may charge a fee for the search and duplication of a medical record, but the fee may not exceed sixty-five cents per page for the first thirty pages and fifty cents per page for all other pages, and a clerical fee for searching and handling not to exceed fifteen dollars per request plus actual postage and applicable sales tax. However, no fee may be charged for records copied at the request of a health care provider or for records sent to a health care provider at the request of the patient for the purpose of continuing medical care. The facility or provider may charge a patient or the patient's representative no more than the actual cost of reproduction of an X-ray. Actual cost means the cost of materials and supplies used to duplicate the X-ray and the labor and overhead costs associated with the duplication.
(B) Except for those requests for medical records pursuant to Section 42-15-95:
(1) A health care facility shall comply with a request for copies of a medical record no later than forty-five days after the patient has been discharged or forty-five days after the request is received, whichever is later.
(2) Nothing in this section may compel a health care facility to release a copy of a medical record prior to thirty days after discharge of the patient.
SECTION 42-15-95. Disclosure of existing information.
All existing information compiled by a health care facility, as defined in Section 44-7-130, or a health care provider licensed pursuant to Title 40 pertaining directly to a workers' compensation claim must be provided to the insurance carrier, the employer, the employee, their attorneys, or the South Carolina Workers' Compensation Commission, within fourteen days after receipt of written request. A health care facility and a health care provider may charge a fee for the search and duplication of a medical record, but the fee may not exceed sixty-five cents per page for the first thirty pages and fifty cents per page for all other pages, and a clerical fee for searching and handling not to exceed fifteen dollars per request plus actual postage and applicable sales tax. The facility or provider may charge a patient or the patient's representative no more than the actual cost of reproduction of an X-ray. Actual cost means the cost of materials and supplies used to duplicate the X-ray and the labor and overhead costs associated with the duplication. If a treatment facility or physician fails to send the requested information within forty-five days after receipt of the request, the person or entity making the request may apply to the commission for an appropriate penalty payable to the commission, not to exceed two hundred dollars.
SECTION 44-115-80. Fees physician may charge for search and duplication of records.
A physician, or other owner of medical records as provided for in Section 44-115-130, may charge a fee for the search and duplication of a medical record, but the fee may not exceed sixty?five cents per page for the first thirty pages and fifty cents per page for all other pages, and a clerical fee for searching and handling not to exceed fifteen dollars per request plus actual postage and applicable sales tax. A physician, health care provider, or other owner of medical records must provide a patient's medical records at no charge when the patient is referred by the physician, health care provider, or an employee, agent, or contractor of the owner of the record to another physician or health care provider for continuation of treatment for a specific condition or conditions. The physician may charge a patient or the patient's representative no more than the actual cost of reproduction of an X-ray. Actual cost means the cost of materials and supplies used to duplicate the X-ray and the labor and overhead costs associated with the duplication.
quote:Originally posted by select-fire
All the releases were signed Nov. 12th. Her new Dr. is also pissed. I think I will go see a Magistrate and get a court order.
Good idea, I always thought the med records were the property of the patient. This can be dangerous, (holding records), especially if her life is depending on them.
+1
He has 45 days to release the info...
So he should be a * about it?
How is the dr being a *?....
THe releases were sent Nov 12th....a lot of the time the record is not even complete for a full 2 or 3 months AFTER the last visit by the patient....the dr might not even be aware of what is going on....the dr DOES NOT release the records, the medical records staff does it...Once the release is sent to the medical record office in the clinic/hospital, the dr has no clue as to when it goes out UNTIL he is told by the new dr or the patient....
quote:Originally posted by shoff14
have your wife walk in and pick them up. Thats all I did when I needed them. They even copied them for me.
Sorry, they charged her 20 bucks for an itemized list but the 60 some pages would not be released. I am starting to get pissed and it isn't smart to piss me off.Maybe they just dont know who you are.
If you have tried that and it didn't work, the magistrate idea might be a good one.
I've had problems getting medical/dental folks to give up the records before, but I've always been able to get them when I showed up in person. Sounds like this doctor is being a premeditated pain in the *.
They have to give you the records, or should I say, "copies", and yes they have timeframes, and can charge you a "reasonable" fee for the copying.
My step dad was a physician,.......difference was, he was a very good one.
You can probably avoid a lot of grief by speaking with the Doctor directly.
I have never had any problem getting records immediately from various medical type people.
I always get the practitioner's home phone number on my first visit with it.
Try it.
I bet it will work to your satisfaction.
Doug
BR.. your statute does not apply to Dr. Dr. records. Only if the patient requests them for their own records. Dr.s have priority to treat patients. If a life / death or any situation occurred and a Dr. withheld information from another Dr. well.... it wouldn't be good for the with holdee.
well i guess they realized it just wasnt a good idea to piss you off...
Yep. That fool of a Dr. just did not know who he/she was dealing with. Won't make the same mistake in the future I bet.
It is not my statute..it is s.c....
As for dr to dr release, as stated, the drs know nothing of release of info...it is done by the medical records staff, or clerical in the drs office...
The law was written very ambiguously and no one really knew what warshington meant exactly so every medical office interprets the law a little differently.
One office out sources the research and copy making. The office secretary would only make copies on Thursday night. IT"S THE SAME FREAKING PERSON THAT CAN MAKE THE COPIES IN 5 MINUTES, BUT WE HAD TO WAIT A COUPLE OF DAYS. Another office didn't want to honor a faxed request. SUCKS!!
We needed this information to give the insurance company proof that the problem was being treated through various means before they would approve a surgery. It took a couple of months to get the information.
Gary...
It is not my statute..it is s.c....
As for dr to dr release, as stated, the drs know nothing of release of info...it is done by the medical records staff, or clerical in the drs office...
I wonder why her old Dr. returned the call after my message then?
Cause he she is responsible for HIS her staff....
Sex doesnt matter Gary....
If you say so...
Have to get the last word in no matter what....Stupid dog can be attacked by pit bulls and the dumb thing wont shut up....
by the way Gary...luv ya too...
must be a forum lurker, came across this thread and paniced. guess he got his act together right quick...