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Last edited by Mw99 on 03 Feb 2009, 8:24 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Did the doctor give you anything such as a "Patient Bill of Rights" when you first started seeing him? Often they give you something like that, and then make you sign to say you got it. If so, then you can wave that in his face, because I'm sure it would say you have access to your own medical records.

I thought there was some sort of law about that, but maybe not.

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Last edited by Mw99 on 03 Feb 2009, 8:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I just looked it up, and apparently HIPAA does state that you must be given access to your own records, so I can't believe your doctor is refusing.

Is your doctor just asking you to come by to pick it up in person, or he is demanding you have a session with him? If the former, it may be easier to just go along with his control freakness. If the latter, then I would get a copy of HIPAA and read it over the phone to him.

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Last edited by Mw99 on 03 Feb 2009, 8:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Um... legally, he is required to give you a copy of your records if you request them. There's not really any way for him to get out of that.

HIPPA HAS to bind ALL health care providers! Even ONE holdout will destroy the whole idea. If they REALLY think they are above hippa, you can ask them if they mind your reporting the incident to the AMA or a hospital or clinic they are a part of. If they are smart, they will QUICKLY give in! After all, if they violate such a rule, they could lose their practice, their assets, and MAYBE even their medical license.

I worked in HR for Bakersfield Memorial Hospital, so I have some experience and education with regards to HIPAA. Allow me to explain: HIPAA stands for Health Information Portability and Accountability Act. (Note: "Privacy" is not in the acronym). HIPAAs essential function is to govern the movement of personal health records (PHR) or protected health information (PHI) between subscribers.

Contrary to the assumptions above, HIPAA is not universal and does not apply to all healthcare providers. Mw99, you need to ask if your former HCP is a subscriber to and covered under HIPAA. If not, they can essentially follow their own rules as it applies to their records. Let me clarify by saying that it is unlikely they are not a subscriber, but you should find out anyway. To complicate this further, if your former HCP is using a third party to maintain the PHR that third party may not be covered under HIPAA at all.

Most importantly, any HCP can limit access to a patients' PHI or PHR for three reasons: Summaries, Risk of harm to patients, and Drug/alcohol abuse records (Health & Safety Code §123115).

Given that the PHR in question are coming from a psychologist, it is very likely the above code is being applied here. You aren't being refused access to the PHR, you are simply being limited in your access which is "legal". You always have the option of challenging the limitation by going through a lawyer.

You don't know what the heck you are talking about. No one SUBSCRIBES to HIPAA. Its Federal LAW that ALL health care providers have to abide by. If the patient is over the age of 18 and their own legal guardian it is illegal to deny them their medical records. The patient just has to sign a release of records form. The health care provider can legally charge a fee for the copying of the paperwork, but most do not. If your psychologist does not comply with your request inform him/her that you will be contacting HIPAA and also the local medical board. Then contact those entities. Your psych refusing is illegal.

I had HIPAA training by the way and spent 2 years advising medical and dental professionals on compliance issues in a previous job. If you don't believe my info on HIPAA then be advised HIPAA does maintain a website where you lookup info. If you are the kind of Aspie with problems sticking up for yourself, speaking up verbally, etc then I advise you get a friend or relative to act as your advocate and go with you to the psych's office and demand a copy of your records.

That is so weird. Seeing them would cause more harm than good? I thought anyone could get a copy of their records if they went through the protocols and the records are recent. I have never heard of this kind of thing happening before, for this reason.
Well anyway, good luck, man.

That statement is false. This is when I absolutely hate forums like this: When some schmoe starts doling out false information disguised as "facts", especially where issues of the law are concerned.



Apparently not very good training.

Based on the government info all health plans must abide by it, but health care providers do not if they don't...

The records are legally yours because you are the principal, you paid the psych for services, and he, the psych is your agent. As your agent, your psych has a duty of loyalty, duty of notification, duty of performance, duty of obedience, and duty of accounting. Under the duty of accounting, your psych must disclose all records to you when requested.

Additionally...

Source

This is not true. Any and all PHR and PHI are the sole property of the entity that generated them. Under most circumstances those entities are required to share their information with the client, at the clients' written request.

HIPAA garauntees the rights of patients to access their identifiable PHI with respect to the limitations I have already outlined above. HIPAA is not a blanket garauntee that ALL records must be relesed at ALL times. HIPAA Privacy Rules provide rights to the HCPs as much as they do their patients.
And again, Mw99 was not denied access to the records in question. Mw99 was limited in their access. The HCP in question is being difficult but is not denying access.

Yes if they don't transmit electronic data they don't have to comply. However few insurances these days accept anything except electronic data. Therefore the majority of health care providers are required to abide by HIPAA rules with the exception of the ones like maybe naturopaths that don't accept insurance. Its not something you decide to or subscribe to; you absolutely must abide by HIPAA regulations if you are a modern health care provider. And even the questionable naturopaths I've been to even abided by HIPAA when they didn't take insurance because its better to error on the side of safety and not have a patient sue you over privacy matters.