Do you have a copy of your medical records?

• 23% Yes
• 77% No

13 people have voted in this poll.

Do you know what is in your medical records? I know that all my doctors have copies of all my medical dates, tests, notes and important things.

Did you know that you can go to your physician’s office and ask for copiesof your records? This is totally legal but some may charge a little fee to make all the photocopies. To me that is a small price to pay to have mymedical records in my hands,. I believe that it is nice to have my own records and history of all my treatments so that if I need to change doctors or get a second opinion then I will have documents to show the new doctors.

When I set my new files for 2011, I will have a file for each doctor or specialist and then note important dates.

“HIPPA” Law stands for

Health

Insurance

Portability

Accountability

Act

What are your rights covered under this “privacy rule” in Illinois?

1. Get a copy of your medical records within 30 days of your written request.

2. They may charge you a “handling fee” of .29 to .86 cents per page to copy and possibly postage.

3. You have a right to “amend” your record - to make it more complete or accurate but you may not take anything off the records the doctors have on it.

4. You can File A Complaint with the US Department of Health and Human Services if they will not let you see, copy, an amend your medical records.

5. Under Illinois Law, you can sue in Illinois circuit court to obtain your medical records.

6. Hospitals must keep your records for up to ten years by law.

It is very helpful to call your doctor to find out the procedure to get your copies of your medical records. Usually they will fax or mail you a “form” to fill out.

Even if you “owe” money to the doctors or hospital they cannot deny you your records.

What I didn’t know is that you can have the option to organize your records using an online program such as Google Health or Microsoft Health Vault. Did you know that?

The only downside is that they are not covered by the HIPPA law (which protects patients privacy). I don’t know about you but I really think all this information for the start of the New Year is a wonderful addition to consider as I am getting organized and making new decisions. Please feel free to comment below.

• useful (8)
• funny
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WillStarr 3 months ago

There’s nothing more private than medical records, but under the new national health care law (Obamacare), all our medical records will necessarily become the property of the United States government.

We are of course assured that no one other than authorized personnel will ever have access to them, but look how easy it was for a foreign outfit like Wikileaks to get top secret military and diplomatic records and display them for anyone to read!

I sincerely hope that Obamacare is repealed, found unconstitutional, or at least defunded, so that our prying government never has access to our personal health records.

Good, informative Hub! Well done.

onceuponatime66 3 months ago

“WillStarr” I agree with you I hope that Obamacare is repealed!!!! Good point!

Moon Willow Lake 3 months ago

I was once told that I couldn’t have part of my medical records because it was covered by th HIPPA law. The “excuse” was that it was medical records about me they received from a different medical institution and that I would need to go to the originating medical institution to retrieve those records. I’m sorry, but those are my medical records and I have a right to them no matter who gives them to me because they are mine! Does this mean that HIPPA says that others have more of a right to my records than I do under certain circumstances? I mean, just reading the few HIPPA statements that I have reveals a list of how they can disclose the records. Ever notice that?

kathryn1000 3 months ago

Well,I would be dead without the N.H.S. and as I am older and may end up having a stroke or whatever,in that case I’d be happy for the hospital to be able to access my info on their computer linking to my GP.Otherwise you lie their feeling ghastly and they start trying to find if you are on medication etc.I don’t mind it being shared.I don’t think many people are interested in my medical history and if they are,well it’s pretty boring.I’m surprised you are so afraid of having some basic health care for all.If you lost your job in the recession,and then your insurance you would be in a pickle.

Enlydia Listener 3 months ago

Hi Once, I am in a program to learn how to do Electronic Health Records…the first part of the program was medical terminology and anatomy and physiology, but starting this week we are going to start learning how to do the records. I am really excited about it. I liked reading this article since it relates to my present interest. Smart idea to get a copy of your records…my question is, Are they readable? I am not sure if they are obligated to explain or translate for you the information in the records.

Rosie2010 3 months ago

Hiya my dear friend Jackie, no I don’t have a copy of my medical records. I don’t even have a family doctor now as my family doctor sold his private practice to work in a big hospital, the nerve! and I didn’t like the new doctor. But that is such a good idea.

Happy New Year!

Rosie

onceuponatime66 3 months ago

Well, all of you have good points to ponder. I think we all need to read up on this and get our own records, it is the law. “enlydia” seems to be taking classes and we should be able to ask her soon. That is great news. I do believe that online records are good, but not as private. That could be an issue for all of us. Privacy Medical records, so that may mean we could “sue” either Google or whomever is our records do go elsewhere and not to just us?! Not sure, great thinking questions and I am going to research all of this as it is so important.

rpalulis 3 months ago

I think this a wonderful idea, especially if you are thinking about seeing other doctors and specialist, I would think that this would speed things up bit.

CMCastro 3 months ago

It is good to have your medical records available. One never knows when you may need to remember something.

Pamela99 2 months ago

I really like your hub as I think it is important to keep your medical records. I didn’t know you could do that online. I have just kept them in folders up until now. Thanks for the info.

katiem2 2 months ago

I didn’t have a copy of my records and needed information on emergency surgery I had just a little over a year ago, I was amazed that I couldn’t just pick them up. I learned what I had to do to get the records needed and once I got them I’ve learned to be careful to keep my records as I go along. Great advice and tips here on how to get your medical records. Katie

Ingenira 2 months ago

Good reminders to keep the medical records well.

OpinionDuck 2 months ago

onceuonatime

Nice hub and informative even though I live in CA.

Google and Microsoft vaults are only second to the US Gvoernment in keeping private information.

If the government was a ship, it would be the only one that leaks from the top. ~:}

It would also be nice if you could get a record of all inquiries made on your records, and the reason for the inquiry.

Thanks

toknowinfo 12 hours ago

Thanks for the info in this hub. It is also important to have a copy of our children’s medical records. When they get older, it verifies what immunizations they got.