Medical records held hostage!!!
 

My favorite physician relocated to a new facility. I went to Premier Medical and requested a copy of my medical records.... Can you believe Premier Medical ask that I pay 25.00 for records that I believe belong to me???

I've had the same thing happen, but found that if a physician's office requests the records, it's free.

They are angry that my doctor left their organization.

My doctor in Ohio charged me $79 for my medical records to be faxed to my new doctor. I was outraged but nothing I could do about it.

Went to Premier last week for four year old records from dr gegaj. Had them in two minutes at no charge. The gal at the window just printed them out and gave them to me.

Faxing medical records is labor intensive. Thankfully, electronic records are replacing forms.

out of area request?
 

Maybe they knew you being out of the area and needed the records so they could charge you and you would pay it to get them.

Dr. Gegaj is my doctor. They did give me notes from my last visit but would have to pay for all of them. I had gone to Premier for 5 years. Just very disappointed in them. I'm a full time residence so it isn't like I was in another state.

I hate the idea of electronic records. Just imagine all the hacks on federal sites like OPM...and when the fed grabs all electronic records we will all be hung out to dry.

456.057(10), Florida Statutes.
https://www.flrules.org/gateway/rule....003&Section=0

When furnishing such copies, a physician may charge as follows:
For patients and governmental entities, the reasonable costs of reproducing copies of written or typed documents or reports shall be no more than $1 per page for the first 25 pages and 25 cents for each additional page. Rule 64B8-10.003, Florida Administrative Code.
For a workers' compensation case, a physician may only charge up to .50 per page for the records and the direct cost for x-rays, microfilm, or other non-paper records. Section 440.13(4)(b), Florida Statutes.
For other entities, the reasonable costs of reproducing copies of written or typed documents or reports shall not be more than $1.00 per page.
Reasonable costs of reproducing x-rays, and such other special kinds of records shall be the actual costs. Rule 64B8-10.003, Florida Administrative Code.

While a physician can condition the release of medical records upon payment of the copying costs, the release cannot be conditioned on payment of the physician's bill for services rendered. Upon the receipt of a written request, the physician must provide the patient with a copy of his medical records within a reasonable time, regardless of whether or not he has outstanding charges due on his account

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Just to be clear, the medical records absolutely do not belong to you the patient. They are created and controlled by the doctor or hospital. You have a right to a copy, at a cost. You have a right to make corrections to your record if you believe they are wrong, but they are not yours. You certainly may make your own notes at home after each medical visit about what happened. Those records would be yours.

From local gastroenterologist.
 

Charged 25 dollars to take them. Said it was charge for copying and office help?

This all seems to cover paper records. Do you know what the "laws" are regarding transmission of electronic (digital) records?

My doctor's office at University of Michigan put my records on a CD and gave them to me. Free of charge. Their mammography department sent me my x-rays, also free. This was all requested by me, not my doctor.

I wonder how long ago it was that someone was charged $79 and records were faxed. That seems a bit old-fashioned.

Absolutely believe it. They all do that now

No, we ALL do not. New York state law allows us to charge 75 cents/page for copies. My partners and I have always thought this was crass, so we provide them free of charge