Pediatrican closing: can they charge for records?
I understand if I were leaving them, they could charge me, but they are closing on me, doesn't seem right...
Could be worse. Our old pediatrician left the state. In their closing letter they stated that requests for records needed to be made in writing, no mention was made of the fees involved. I asked in writing for my children's records to be forwarded to the new pediatrician. I stupidly assumed that it would be taken care of. Turns out NOTHING was forwarded. The middle child I am not that upset with, he has no significant health history, but my eldest had a hole in his heart (it has since resolved without surgical intervention) and I would really like our new doc to have ALL the records and not just the ones from the cardiologist. 
I'd say be glad that they are only charging $20 per child (akin to doing a couple of sets of camp forms), rather than per page charges of some sort.
It seems one doesn't really know ones doctor until something like this happens.
When our son switched from pediatrician to adult doctor, there was no charge for the records. My mother switched from a NJ ophthalmologist to a NY one and again no charge for the record transfer.
I would assume it is..it used to be $1/page charge by law (maximum, they weren't required to charge it), but it may be different for electronic records. You really should get the main records as you go along and review them yourself. Docs miss things all the time. You always need to get any test results and read them yourself. Blood tests will show you anything out of range that you can look into.
If you have a new doc, the new doc may be able to get them for free.
I would assume that is the cost to pick up records as opposed to mailing......
What is the cost to the physician's office? Would they be sent regular mail or a more secured service? Multiply the cost by a couple of hundred patients.
Maybe $20. is excessive but possibly not.
Cost me a couple of $100 dollars to get out records to a new internist when our old one passed away and we didn't continue with the doc that took over his practice. We had been with the old doc for 20 years so it was a lot to copy but still... And still, it was worth it. I took the records and made a copy of them for my new doctor and kept the originals so that at least, we still have them.
Doctors offices have always charged for records, but many waived the charge to give to a patient.
In this case, they are telling you if you want the records you have to do it now as well as pay because he does not want to spend the money to keep the records. They are allowed to charge what is considered reasonable and related to actual expenses. The largest part of the cost is the labor. $20.00 is on the low end of the scale.
At least you have the option, rather than have him just close the office and not keep the records.
I would imagine there is some labor involved in getting the records and possibly a fee for delivery? If it were an all electronic transaction I might be upset but if someone is pulling files making copies and getting them to you within HIPPA guidelines I'd say $20 is a bargain.
GGartrell said:
I would imagine there is some labor involved in getting the records and possibly a fee for delivery? If it were an all electronic transaction I might be upset but if someone is pulling files making copies and getting them to you within HIPPA guidelines I'd say $20 is a bargain.
This. Some doctors provide records at no cost, but if this office is closing and they are getting records to a lot of patients, it could cost them quite a lot. The amount they are asking sounds to me like they are defraying costs, not trying to gouge.
They must keep records for 7 years...they can't say they don't want to spend the money....and it is not 'whatever is reasonable' NJ law had been up to $1 a page...even though that is highly unreasonable. I have heard a number of docs charging a flat fee of 20...i wonder if that has to do with electronic records. or just that they feel that is reasonable to print any number of pages (above 20).
Most docs have you pick up records..so there is no fee for delivery...and you can pay on the spot...the records should still be in the office...its not much labor to pull the file. If the pages are neat they can just be run through the feeder....if they are electronic...they just have to press print and it all prints.....they may have to check which pages if there is anything that shouldn't be printed (ie for a psychologist, session notes don't have to be provided).
Formerlyjerseyjack said:
What is the cost to the physician's office? Would they be sent regular mail or a more secured service? Multiply the cost by a couple of hundred patients.
Maybe $20. is excessive but possibly not.
My son's one page form for school was also $20. I understand that it shouldn't be free as it does take time to pull the chart and fill out the form, but $20 for one page did seem excessive. And it wasn't mailed, I picked it up in person. If the patient wants it mailed then the patient needed to include a self addressed stamped envelope since the $20 fee didn't include the price of a stamp or an envelope.
Sometimes if you have a new doc lined up they won't charge to fax it to doc but I agree it's best to have a copy for yourself.
spontaneous said:
Formerlyjerseyjack said:
What is the cost to the physician's office? Would they be sent regular mail or a more secured service? Multiply the cost by a couple of hundred patients.
Maybe $20. is excessive but possibly not.
My son's one page form for school was also $20. I understand that it shouldn't be free as it does take time to pull the chart and fill out the form, but $20 for one page did seem excessive. And it wasn't mailed, I picked it up in person. If the patient wants it mailed then the patient needed to include a self addressed stamped envelope since the $20 fee didn't include the price of a stamp or an envelope.
was this for actually filling out another form, not just copying a page?
The school form was a state form that had to be filled by the doc. The amount of info required would have taken about 5 minutes of his time. Add another 10 minutes for his staff to pull the chart (probably only 3 minutes in reality but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and say 10). For this I had to pay $20 and then show up in person to collect the form.
The records was a separate issue. I requested in writing for my children's records to be transferred to our new doctor. It never happened.
Only in NH do patients own their medical records. A doctor charging only $20 seems like a courtesy.
jmitw said:
j_r said:
Fees are set by state law, which you can see here.
I only see HOSPITAL records listed
Health care professionals are addressed in section 2.
When we moved Commandatore charged $15 for the first two kids and $10 for each additional. Including shipping. Seemed reasonable.
This thread is one of the reasons I love having all my records available to me online now. I just save everything in a PDF. Done and done.
jmitw said:
they may have to check which pages if there is anything that shouldn't be printed (ie for a psychologist, session notes don't have to be provided).
Just to clarify a few points, the linked law that was cited only applies to those professions that are governed by the State Medical Board.
Psychologists, social workers and counselors have their own separate Board regulations that are similar. In addition, mental health professionals can choose to provide an accurate summary in lieu of the records, except in litigation when they may have to provide notes for each session. However, if they do provide the records, there Has to be a session note for each session, with minimal information about e.g. session times, diagnoses, treatment modality, and changes in symptoms.
The therapist under HIPAA can choose to keep a separate set of psychotherapy notes completely confidential, containing very personal content that they don't want to keep in the medical record, that does not have to be turned over to anyone including the client, although most therapists do not keep two sets of such notes.
spontaneous said:
The school form was a state form that had to be filled by the doc. The amount of info required would have taken about 5 minutes of his time. Add another 10 minutes for his staff to pull the chart (probably only 3 minutes in reality but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and say 10). For this I had to pay $20 and then show up in person to collect the form.
The records was a separate issue. I requested in writing for my children's records to be transferred to our new doctor. It never happened.
In this case you actually paid for a service, not just copies..considering that hospitals will charge uninsured patients $100 for tylenol...that is cheap.
Was this Dr. Cardwell? Apparently she closed her practice without telling most of her patients. I'm beyond livid, as they didn't even bother to cancel our appointment for Jan 6.
$20.00 seems reasonable -considering the time, labor etc. But as pointed out above, many practices are allowing patients to get their records online making the process easier and less expensive.
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Our Pediatrician is closing and I'm trying to get my boys medical records to give them to a new pediatrician. The practice is trying to charge me $20 per child. Is this legal? Anyone know?
Thanks!