#MedicalRecords #Healthcare #LegalAdvice #Epilepsy #ChildrensHospital
Hey there, fellow Californians! 🌟 Need your advice on a frustrating situation. My son has epilepsy, and we’re having a tough time getting his hospital records transferred to his new neurologist. The hospital keeps claiming a broken piece of equipment is hindering them from providing us with his 24 hr EEG results. 😤
Here are some questions I have:
– Do we have any legal options to push the hospital to release the records?
– Is there a time limit for how long they can withhold our son’s medical information?
– How can we avoid having to do another expensive EEG?
Any suggestions on how to navigate this situation would be greatly appreciated! Let’s brainstorm together and help each other out. 🧠💡
Lawyer, but not yours and not barred in CA.
Hospitals are required under both federal and (likely) state law to preserve records and timely provide them to patients or their guardians. The records belong to your son (if he’s an adult) or you (if he’s a minor). Not exactly sure about California, but this is generally actionable by the federal Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Civil Rights. You can file a complaint here – [http://www.hhs.gov/ocr](http://www.hhs.gov/ocr)
Fair warning, this can take a lot of time. I hope this turns out well for you.
“Under the HIPAA Privacy Rule, a covered entity must act on an individual’s request for access no later than 30 calendar days after receipt of the request.” Threaten the hospital with a hipaa violation if the records are not released today. They are already well in violation.
Be prepared to be assertive. Orthodontist, not a hospital or lawyer, but this is VERY common. I’m able to get records less than half the time even when state agencies are involved. I’m in Washington but colleagues in all other states report the same thing. It’s illegal as others have noted, but it’s hard to get anyone to do anything about it.
I wish you the best of luck; it’s ridiculous that this stuff happens but unfortunately it does.
How old is your child?
I don’t know if this will work for you but it’s worth a try. We were getting runaround about medical records. We happened to mention to my cardiologist that we could not get the records from the hospital for some GI tests. He was able to get them for us electronically and he wasn’t even the doctor who ordered those tests. He gave them to us immediately before we left his office. It was not an Ascension hospital. See if one of your son’s other doctors can get you what you need.
Outside of legal advice, for the sake of your sons health, I would ask your current neurologist to attempt to contact the neurologist that ordered and read the EEG in the hospital, perhaps they could talk on the phone to discuss during your appointment.
You’re gotten some good advice. Please do start with the hospital’s Patient Services, Patient Advocate, or Ombudsman. Their website should list how to contact that person/department, regardless of what they are called there. Quote the HIPAA Privacy Rule and you should see fast results, as those penalties are very high, as well as counting as a strike against them going forward. Be prepared to file a HIPAA complaint if you haven’t heard from them in 72 hours. Because you have already waited well beyond the 30-day limit.
You can move on to CA state entities like Dept of Health/Human Services or the like, but that will take much longer.
Former Health Information Manager (Medical Records). I would go to the hospital website or call the hospital and ask to speak directly to this specific person. They might not have access to the record (some records such as imaging must come from that department directly ) but they do know how to reach the person responsible.
Also, I can’t tell if you are trying to get the record for yourself or have it sent directly to the new provider, but it should be quicker to have it sent directly to the new provider.
Many hospitals have patient portals where you can access documents and records, I would see if you can enroll in one if possible.
Incidentally, does your old hospital provide an electronic patient portal, such as MyChart? If you never signed up for it before, you might try it to see what might be available.
The records which are presented to patients are oriented toward them, so these huge EEG records won’t be there — they’re in a system which doctors can access. But there might be some notes of how tests were interpreted which would be interesting to other medical professionals. I’ve had some tests where a radiologist provided fascinating details of many things, using detailed medical terminology, and obviously intended for my doctors rather than for me.
Also, records of tests might have interesting details such as the names of the doctors and technicians involved in complex tests.
Talk to the designated hippa coordinator and advise you will file a complaint if the records are not in your hands within a few days (they are already in violation at this point). File said violation if they don’t comply.
You can also file a complaint with the state medical board against the physician in most states. Advise the doctor(s) your son saw this is going to happen if they don’t get the records to you timely. They don’t want a board event and will apply a lot of internal pressure to get you the records.
of no use but stumbled upon this post, I hope your son gets the help he needs and may God surround him with good doctors and nurses. God Bless.