Your Medical File

HOW TO OBTAIN MEDICAL RECORDS:

You are entitled to copies of each and every piece of medical information that concerns you anywhere in the U.S. You have to ask for them, making it clear that you know you can get them, and you often need to insist and accept no excuses.

The request for medical records is made at your physician's office for his office notes, reports, and test results, and at the medical records department of your hospital for all events happening while you were a patient therein. They may properly request that you sign a release of information form that they will provide for you. There may be a copying charge. If you want to present your records for a complete malpractice evaluation, or if the records are being collected in preparation for litigation, be sure to specify what you want. Do not accept summaries that the health care providers choose to give you.

Specifically request, "Each and every page of medical record information available including, but not limited to: Office notes, discharge summaries, history, physical exam, progress notes, operating reports, operating room records, anesthesia sheets, consultation requests and reports, all laboratory and imaging results, memos, letters, insurance forms, bills, and all other written records contained in the requested file that are in your possession."

Please click here to view and print the medical records release form for your own records

OBTAINING RECORDS OF A DECEASED LOVED ONE:

This records release form may be utilized to request medical records of a deceased spouse, child, or parent. When requesting records of a deceased spouse, child or parent, you may need to provide a copy of the death certificate (if the death did not occur at that facility). Additionally, if the records are for your child or a parent, you must also provide proof of your authority to act for the patient, such as documents appointing you as a personal representative, administrator, executor/executrix, or a durable power of attorney. It is best if you call the hospital or the care facility to ask what proof they require to obtain a deceased family member's medical records.

Keep in mind that there will most likely be a charge for the medical records and they may even request payment in advance. If you encounter any problems in obtaining medical records from a medical facility or doctor's office, please feel free to call our office at 480.905.9208 or toll free at 1.888.905.9208. We are here to help you with your potential medical malpractice case.

Click here to view this form and print it.

Medical records are confidential. They may properly be released only to the patient, or to someone authorized in writing by the patient, or authorized by law to act for the patient.

As a parent of a minor, you are authorized by law to obtain your child's medical records. However, once that child is deceased, that legal authority ends. A medical provider should not release to anyone (including children's parents or a surviving spouse) the medical records of a deceased person without obtaining proof that the person requesting them has legal authority to request them. Many times proof will include records establishing that the individual requesting the records has been appointed as the trustee, executor, or administrator for the decedent's estate.

What records may be in a hospital file?

(Please have all records copied at 95% their original size, not 100%)