Patients and Families Struggle to Access Medical Records
For families and patients who undergo hospitalization or medical treatment it is often difficult for them to receive their medical records once requested of the institution. In many cases the failure of the medical institution to produce the requested records delays the ability of the family to file any negligence lawsuit because of an imposed statute of limitations. It can be difficult to obtain medical records from hospitals and other treatment facilities after something goes wrong. Under federal law, every patient or a designated representative has the right to see and copy the patient's medical records. However, missing or disputed records are the most common source of complaints on USA TODAY's Patient Safety website (patient safety.usatoday.com), which was created in 2006 to give readers a venue to express concerns about inadequate medical care. Sidney Wolfe, a physician who leads the health research group at the non-profit consumer advocacy group, Public Citizen says, “there is essentially a double standard” when it comes to accessing medical records. When doctors or hospitals request medical records of their patients they usually get them however, “If it's just the patient who wants the records or the patient's family if the patient died, it's a whole different story,” Wolfe said. Harry Rhodes, a spokesman for the American Health Information Management Association, says most cases of missing records are honest omissions. The federal law that gives patients and family members access to medical records is the privacy section of the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act. HIPAA allows health care providers to withhold records in some circumstances, as long as they explain why they are doing so. Examples of records that may be withheld are psychiatric documents and documents generated in preparation for a legal action.
