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Linda
Brandwin, R.N.
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Linda
Brandwin
is a registered nurse and a medical billing
and claims specialist. For the past 10 years
she has worked directly with insurance companies
to give advice and guidance to the health care
consumer.
Readers may send email
or write Linda Brandwin at 5500 Single Oak Hill
Ct., Woodbridge, VA 22192.
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Doctors
have the right to charge a medical record copying fee
Nov. 26, 2004
Q:
I
was not pleased with my internist, so I decided to switch
doctors. I called my old internist requesting a copy
of my medical records. I was shocked to find out that
he was charging me a fee close to $40.00 for copying
my chart. Do doctors have the right to do this? Will
my insurance reimburse me? I wanted to go to the doctor's
office and copy my own records but the office manager
said I could not do this. Do all doctors do this? Needless
to say, this is just another reason why I want to change
doctors.
A:
Yes,
doctors have the right to charge you a medical record
copying fee if they so choose. Most doctors do not want
to profit from copying patients' medical records, rather
they just want to offset and recover their costs especially
when the records are substantial. There is nothing ethically
wrong with this.
It
may not seem as if there is much cost involved in copying
a medical record. However, there are labor costs that
doctors are entitled to recoup. Some of these costs
are ensuring appropriate authorization, logging requests,
physically searching and retrieving the records, refiling
the chart, the actually copying of the records which
includes paper, toner and maintenance of the equipment,
preparing the documents for mailing, postal costs and
invoicing expenses.
There
is no universal fee for copying medical records. Each
state has its own regulations which can change each
year. An average cost for copying medical records would
be an initial $20.00 for search and retrieval, $1.00
for the first 10 or 20 pages, $.50 for each page thereafter,
and postal charges. This is only an average to give
you an idea as to what to expect. The charges will vary
from state to state. Also many states do not have a
fixed fee and they just simply say that the health care
provider may charge a "reasonable fee." You
will be obligated to pay these fees and they are not
reimbursable by your insurance company.
The
office manager was definitely within her rights to not
allow you to copy your own records. The office manager
is responsible for your chart and will be responsible
for copying your records.
With
all of that said, there are some doctors who do not
charge a fee for copying medical records when you switch
to a new doctor. They believe this cost is included
in their service to the patient. If you consider this
a deciding factor in choosing your physician, be sure
to ask about this fee before your appointment.
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