The cost of your own medical records

madubois63 · 07-14-2008, 12:23 AM

It is VERY important that you get copies of your medical records every inch of the way!! I was denied long term disability (on a technicality) 4 years ago and didn't fight the case. Last year, someone else sued and won her case Now the insurance company has to re-evaluate and notify everyone they denied. What that means is that I had to get ALL my medical records for the last 4 years. I've been collecting scan reports and blood work, but I didn't think to get discharge notes and doctors correspondence/notes. Of course, I have a bc onc, a leukemia onc, a bone marrow doc, a pulmonary doc, a thoracic surgeon, a gyno, a bc surgeon, a radiology onc and three hospitals....Some of the hospitals/docs charged me for the copies and they were real expensive (.25 a page). One hospital wanted $1,400 for all my records. Instead I paid $25 for an hour to sit with the stack and pull just the papers I needed, then it cost $40.00 for the copies. All in all, I've paid over $200.00 for copies. This does not include any of my films (which I do have too). After collating a friend let me use her office copier - which saved me me nearly $60.00 in copies. I now have a complete record of everything, but if you do it as you go along it won't cost you like it cost me....Please pray I get a favorable decision. It will be retroactive nearly 4 years and I'll get interest!!!

It was a costly lesson, but you never know why you might need the records. My friend's doctor's medical record room had a convenient fire and some records were lost. Just another reason to have your won copies....

lilyecuadorian · 07-14-2008, 06:03 AM

Maryann I wishing the best LUCK !! I got the felling that you are going to win this one too!!!

Hopeful · 07-14-2008, 06:35 AM

Excellent advice. Thanks for posting. Best of luck with the review.

Hopeful

StephN · 07-14-2008, 10:10 AM

Dear Maryann.
MY! You have been a busy bee, as if you had nothing else to do. Hassle those years of records out of hiding.
I can't see how they would turn you down after your history! They had BETTER not!

I had a friend tell me when I was just starting (she was 7 years into her fight) that she had an entire two drawers of a file cabinet with her records. So, that gave me the idea that I needed to get another file cabinet and make room for my records as I collected them.

That was a nice idea for a while, but I am quite behind on the filing and sorting out of what I need to keep and bills paid, etc.

P.S. Found the filing cabinet at a local garage sale for $15.00. It is heavy steel, 4 drawers and came from an insurance office where they had been very nice to it!

hutchibk · 07-14-2008, 10:27 AM

this is a good question for my doc when I see him today. I have about 1/8th of my records, but I stopped trying about 2 years ago... I am going to ask him what he recommends as far as what I should have in my files and how he will assist me in accessing his file should I ever need it. I WILL make him help me come up with a plan. We are pretty tight and he won't duck it.

AlaskaAngel · 07-14-2008, 10:44 AM

Hi,

I want to make a suggestion that I think will work out better for both doctors and patients.

Maybe the problems I've had are partly the result of my personality (for better or worse), but throughout all of it, there were just 2 major difficulties I ran into and both were due to the same root problem -- not being given the chance to see my medical test results PLUS not simply asking to see them at the time. I don't mean just making sure to get copies as you go. I mean at the time when you are there to discuss them with the doctor. If he is discussing the results with you, he has a copy and has seen them, whereas you, the patient, are at a disadvantage because you don't have a copy in front of you and haven't had the time he has had to review it and think about it.

So my advice is, when the discussion begins, simply ask him to give YOU a copy right then and there.

The best docs I've had were those who gave me a copy before I even asked, when I sat down to begin the discussion about the test results. And those docs were the ones I've had the fewest resulting misunderstandings with.

It seems like such a simple, obvious thing to do. But most of us don't do it because we don't think of it at the time, or we are politely waiting for help from the doctor.

AlaskaAngel

DanaRT · 07-14-2008, 11:30 AM

Mary Ann,

I admire your hard work and perseverance. Thanks for the advice.
Good luck, you deserve to win.

I kept many of my mammograms and path reports under my bed. My radiation oncology office requested them. These were my personal records even though the hard copies were orginal. When they were done with them records manager sent all of the contents in the oversized file back to each imaging center! I am so frustrated by this. Now I have to round them up again....

Dana

Lani · 07-14-2008, 12:21 PM

at least where there is a law on what can be charged for medical records
there are two prices for copying, one for the records to be sent to another doctor and the other for records to be copied for lawyers and court cases.

If you told a friendly doctor (or his/her nurse) about your dilemma perhaps he/she would let the
copies be sent to them and then release them to you. It could be your family doctor perhaps even.

Worth a try?

Chelee · 07-14-2008, 01:07 PM

Without getting into everything I needed all my medical records. I had most of them but they did not include all the doctors progress notes, hospital records which include surgical reports, nurses charts & notes, discharge papers, etc. This was a big job for me since I have seven doctors.

What Lani said is correct. They usually asked me what doctor I wanted these sent to so that I would't have to pay for them. But in my case what I found out is when you fill out the medical records release form it has a bunch of boxes to check as to why you want your records? It says something like for Self, doctor, Attorney, continued care, etc. I can't remember them all right now. But whatever you do...DON'T check just the box that says "self". If you do they WILL charge you because you want them for yourself.

Later while picking up more of my records I was talking to a women in the records Dept and the topic of charging me came up. She explained that if you check the box that says "continued care" you will not be charged. They know you want the records to take to other doctors that you will be seeing. So the two ways to make sure you won't get charged is to have them sent to one of your doctors if you have a close enough relationship with him/her. Or check continued care and they will not charge you. I always checked BOTH boxes that said "self & continued care". I can't stress enough how many records I've collected this way...not only my records but all of my Mother's records. I seriously haven't paid a dime for any of them due to checking the right boxes. Hope this helps someone.

Chelee

ElaineM · 07-14-2008, 02:19 PM

Getting copies of records it very useful not only for insurance and disability issues, but for other reasons as well. It is a federal law that we are entitled to them.
I have always gotten copies of all my test results. I have learned alot. I can go back and check on things myself anytime I need to do that. I can share them with doctors and medical professionals who may not be in the "loop". I have learned that sometimes the medical professionals we requested to be sent copies don't get them. I have also learned that doctors who order various tests don't always tell the patients all the results. We can read them for ourselves if we get copies. I look up things I don't understand in a medical dictionary or on the internet. Since my doc can't remember when I am supposed to get regular tests I can remind him if I have a copy of the last test.