Medical Records

I've recently had the conversation with several friends about if they are allowed to get their medical records from a practice they are leaving. I always affirm that YES, you are always, always, always entitled to your own medical records. The standard practice is that a practice will fax over your records to a requested practice for free, but there is often a charge involved in getting your own copies. I had no idea that charge is actually legislated, but stumbled across this today. Here are the rules for what can be charged for medical records in Colorado:

Colorado

6 C.C.R. 1011-1, Chapter 2, Part 5.2.3.4

For a representative of the patient, other than a "personal representative" as defined in (HIPAA) 45 CFR 164.502(g):

• $16.50 for the first 10 or fewer pages
• $.75 per page for pages 11-40
• $.50 per page for every additional page
• The per-page fee for records copied from microfilm shall be $1.50 per page
• Actual postage or shipping costs and applicable sales tax, if any, also may be charged.

For the discharged patient or personal representative:

• Reasonable cost not to exceet $14.00 for the first 10 or fewer pages
• $.50 per page for pages 11-40
• $.33 per page for every additional page
• Actual postage may be charged
• Per-page fees for microfilm shall be $1.50 per page

And if you want to look up your own state, here is a link: http://www.lamblawoffice.com/medical-records-copying-charges.html