ByHow to Get Your Kootenai Health Medical Records Easily
Are you looking for your medical records from multiple healthcare providers? Pulling them all together can be time-consuming and expensive. And if you need them in a rush, you may be out of luck. It's all too common for former patients to spend hours on the phone with beleaguered hospital records department staff, trying to find the exact records you need, and then, after weeks, get the wrong records in the mail.
You may have stumbled across ads for companies that say they can get you your records faster. But many of these ads are for companies that charge substantial premiums above the regular costs providers impose. Others are placed by scammers seeking your financial and other confidential information.
But you need your medical records from multiple providers like Mercy Medical, Cleveland Clinic, Kaiser, Baptist Medical, and in a hurry to help you deal with a medical, financial, or emergency. Before trying to fast-track getting your medical records online, here's what you need to know.
How to Ensure You're Not Giving Your Information to a Scammer
To make sure you're not responding to a fake site that promises to get you your quickly, you should check the website for these key things:
- Spelling errors
- Inconsistent information
- Requirements to pay by bank transfer
- Domain names other than .com
- Missing padlock icon
Websites with spelling errors are often signs of overseas scammers looking to make a buck. Inconsistent information, such as details that contradict each other on different pages of the same website, are also signs of a scam.
If you see any offer that asks you to pay by bank transfer, alarms should go off. When you provide that information, you're not only likely to lose your payment, but a cybercriminal with just a few tools now widely available on the dark web could take you for a lot more.
Legitimate consumer shopping sites usually end in .com. While there are some exceptions, if the third-party medical record website's domain name ends in .net or .org, be suspicious. And if it doesn't start with HTTPS or have the padlock icon near the URL, you're dealing with an unsecured site. Stay away!
How Can I Tell if I'm Dealing With a Legitimate Medical Records Provider?
If you're not sure if you're dealing with a legitimate medical records vendor, there are a few steps you can take:
- Check with local consumer affairs organizations
- Read online reviews
- Check with the local Chamber of Commerce
- See if the website offers secure payment options
The moment you suspect the vendor you see online may be fake, check with consumer affairs nonprofits where the company operates. You can often also quickly learn from online search results that come up when you enter the vendor's name whether they are legitimate as well.
Your local Chamber of Commerce may be able to validate the vendor's authenticity. And signs of encryption and secure payment methods are often, but not always, signs of legitimate vendors as well.
How Can I Order My Kootenai Health Medical Records Directly?
Ordering your medical records from Kootenai Health directly is not much different than ordering them from any other healthcare provider or hospital. You log in to the patient portal and complete an online records request form. Or you download an authorization form from their website, complete it, and mail it to them. You'll usually need to include a copy of your government-issued photo ID as well.
You may send the form by mail, email, or fax:
| Mailing Address | 2003 Kootenai Health Way, Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814 |
| HIMROI@kh.org | |
| Fax | (208) 625-6247 |
Keep in mind that when you order your medical records directly, you're dealing with a records department that is inundated with requests. You're dealing with well-intentioned staff who are frequently pulled from the bureaucratic work of sorting through medical records to handle multiple crises throughout the day. And you're dealing with people who can't find your older records or may not be able to read your handwriting and may inadvertently send you the wrong thing.
Despite the promise of electronic health records (EHRs), errors abound. Healthcare systems and hospital systems periodically upgrade or replace their systems or perform maintenance, which can corrupt patient data. And when providers merge, patient data can get lost in the shuffle. If your request doesn't exactly match what's in the provider's system in terms of:
- The full name you used when you were treated
- The address you gave when treated
- Dates of treatment
- Social security number
Your request may go to the bottom of the pile until a staffer has time to complete a more thorough search. And with dozens of requests coming in each day, there's no telling how long that will take.
Why You Should Use DoNotPay to Get Your Kootenai Health Medical Records
Featured in international media and operating in the U.K. and the U.S., DoNotPay helps consumers handle important but time-consuming and complex tasks online. We've helped people just like you get their quickly by just following a few simple steps:
- Look up medical records on DoNotPay's website.
- Enter the name of the health care provider you'd like to receive medical records from.
- Answer a few questions about your provider and where you'd like to send the records.
When you use DoNotPay, you can be assured that you'll receive your Kootenai Health medical records quickly and that your personal information will be safe and secure.
How Else Can DoNotPay Help You?
DoNotPay offers consumers a range of helpful online tools and shortcuts to get the information and services they need. Not only can we help you get your medical records, but we can also help you obtain your birth certificate, file complaints, send demand letters to anyone, request sick leave, and more.
But if you're just looking for legitimate assistance cutting through the bureaucracy of obtaining healthcare records, look no further than DoNotPay. We're happy to help!