What are the parameters surrounding a patient request for their medical records? (please see details)

Asked by Buttonstc (27605) February 6th, 2012 from iPhone

I’m not referring to a patient’s records to be sent to a different Drs. office. That’s pretty cut and dried, I assume.

I’m talking about a patient requesting copies of their own records to be mailed or handed to them.

Would this routinely include Drs. notes in addition to test results, prescription dates, BP, weight, and other common stuff? Or must there be a specific request for inclusion of each item? Is the word everything sufficient for truly everything or is that interpreted differently from one medical office to another?

Is there any regulation covering how much they’re allowed to charge for this? If so, is there an upper limit max?

Not referring to X-Rays (since they obviously cost) which are easier on disk.

Since a patient has a legal right to this info, does the legality extend to the full totality of the request or are some items exempt? If so, which ones?

I’m hoping some folks working in the medical field could give some info. But if your experience is on the patient end of the spectrum, any info gleaned from your experience or advice you may have surrounding this issue is most welcome. Give me the straight scoop. Thanks, guys.