How to Request Your Epic Medical Records

Part of the purpose of enacting the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act was to provide patients with an easy apparatus for obtaining and transferring their medical information, as part of supporting their own healthcare. If you're like many people, however, you're not really sure how to get started when it comes to transferring your Epic medical records on your own. And that's OK! DoNotPay wants to help make the process easier for you. We've done the research for you and found the answers you need with regard to gaining access to your Epic health record.

Why Would I Need Access to My Medical Records?

There are a variety of reasons why a person might want to get access to their Epic health records. Some of the most common reasons include:

1. A patient may feel they're being misdiagnosed. In order to receive a second opinion, they want to give another physician access to their records.
2. A person may be moving far enough away that remaining with a current healthcare provider isn't feasible.
3. Some people are receiving a substantial amount of treatment for a serious illness. In order to receive the best possible care, they may want to review their Epic medical record to ensure it's as accurate as possible.
4. A patient's health provider may retire, which means they need to transfer their Epic electronic health record to another physician.
5. A seriously ill person may want to fill out a medical records release form in order to transfer authority for their care over to a close relative or a friend who's been granted power of attorney.

Regardless of the reason why you want access to your medical records, it's important to remember that, by law, you ARE entitled to access!

Challenges Associated With Accessing Medical Records

While the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) guarantees a person the right to have access to their own medical and dental records, there are some aspects of this guarantee that can be confusing. What if a caregiver or guardian needs to transfer the medical records of a person over which they have guardianship? What if someone wants access to their Epic electronic medical record, but the records they need are very old?

DoNotPay has researched these kinds of questions, along with some others, and these are the answers we uncovered:

1. By law, all healthcare providers (including those that use the Epic medical record system) are required to keep a patient's medical records for 6 years from the date of service. If a physician retires or leaves a practice, they're obligated to either transfer the responsibility for patient records to another provider, or they must make an agreement with a commercial storage company to store patient records.
2. If a physician sells their practice, the new owner must maintain the records of the old patients for 6 years from the original date of service.
3. Are there costs associated with getting access to medical records? Yes, healthcare providers have a right to charge reasonable fees to those requesting records from the Epic electronic health record software system.
4. You always have a right to your own Epic electronic medical records, and parents have rights to the records of their underage children.
5. guardians and those with power of attorney over someone can ask for medical records on behalf of the person over which they have authority.
6. A patient with an official caregiver or advocate can submit a letter that states that they allow their caregiver to request access to their medical information on their behalf.

What Type of Information Will I Need?

If you'd like access to your own medical records, or if you're a guardian or official caregiver, there is some basic information you'll need to have on hand in order to get access to records from the Epic medical records system.

In order to request medical records, be prepared to provide the following information to the provider:

• The patient's full name
• The name of the guardian or the person granted power of attorney (if applicable)
• The patient's date of birth, and social security number
• The patient's current address and phone number
• A list of the records being requested and their associated date(s) of service
• Email address of the patient and/or guardian (if applicable)
• Requested delivery option for records, (e.g., in person, fax, electronic (email), or regular mail)

When Can I Expect the Transaction to Take Place?

Whether you're requesting records for your own review, or if your request involves transferring your medical records to another healthcare provider, the transaction may not occur immediately. While laws vary from state to state, in general, a healthcare provider has anywhere from 30 to 60 days to fulfill your request.

What About Help for Other Medical Centers?

DoNotPay has done research on how to get medical records for a wide variety of medical centers throughout the country. Listed below are other popular medical providers that you or someone you know, may want more information on how to access their record system.

• How do I get access to my records at the Cleveland Clinic?
• How do I obtain my health records from Kaiser Medical?
• How do I get my medical records from Baptist Medical?
• I need help getting my Mercy Medical records
• Learn medical records