What Should I Know About Retrieving Records at North Shore University Hospital?

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What Should I Know About Retrieving Records at North Shore University Hospital?

North Shore University Hospital represents a teaching hospital for the Donald and Barbara School of Medicine. As an integral part of Northwell Health, this multifaceted facility serves a diverse community, including military veterans. The numerous departments may cause confusion when retrieving medical records, but

operates with a mission focusing on caring, excellence in education, and innovation and offers residency programs, post-graduate training, and clinical fellowships.

They implement the best medical care possible without regard to the patient's ability to pay.

HIPAA Gives You the Right to Access You North Shore Medical Records:

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act or HIPAA was passed in 1996. One of the main components of HIPAA involves the Privacy Rule within that legislation gives individuals the right to obtain medical information from healthcare providers.

This rule provides the patient with the right to access their protected health information or PHI. They may obtain the record to inspect, get a copy, or both. The patient also maintains the right to obtain both electronic and hard copy records regardless of the information's date.

What Information Is Included in the Right of Access or the ‘Designated Record Set?

As stated in 45 CFR 164.05, the Designated Record Set consists of a group of records covered by an entity that consists of the following:

  • Medical records
  • Billing records
  • Enrollment records, payments, claim adjustments, or any medical management record system maintained by or for a health plan.
  • Miscellaneous records used to make decisions regarding individuals- The person requesting the information does not need to be the named individual in question.

What if You Need Electronic Copies of Your Medical Records?

Through HIPAA legislation, consumers may retrieve medical information as easily as they obtain banking and credit card information.

Many healthcare facilities, including North Shore University Hospital, provide a secure way to view medical information online. It involves the Patient setting up a secure FollowMyHealth portal with a username and password. With the secure patient portal, the individual may view medical records, keep track of their medications and even schedule future appointments.

To retrieve your health records or electronic medical records online, you need to set up your account or Patient Portal. When setting up your portal, make sure to prepare the following information:

  • Full name
  • Social Security Number
  • ID or Member Number associated with hospital
  • Date of birth, including the year
  • Address, email, phone number,
  • Method of delivery requested such as email, fax, or physical documents mailed, or access to Patient Portal

If your medical network does not offer these types of patient portals or PHR services, try contacting a consumer's advocate to help you obtain information or electronic services.

What Types of Medical Records Are Not Obtainable?

For an individual to obtain a medical record, it must fall under the designated record set. The information that patients can't access usually fall into one of these three categories:

  1. Information used for business decisions and performance evaluations of the hospital or healthcare facility- This type of information doesn't pertain to the patient's health. Still, it involves customer service and the patient experience.
  2. Personal psychotherapy notes taken by the mental health care provider during a counseling session don't qualify as part of the patient's medical record.
  3. Information intended for criminal or civil court proceedings such as a lawsuit

How to Obtain Northshore Medical Records on Your Own:

Since North Shore University Hospital falls under the umbrella of Northwell Health, you must follow their procedures to obtain medical records.

It's suggested to sign up for the FollowMyHealth portal to obtain records, check test results, view appointment notes, schedule appointments, and more. If you can't access the portal or need a physical copy of a record, follow these steps:

  1. You will need to complete a Northwell Health Authorization form with a written request.
  2. Select the Northwell facility you visited and the record you require in their respective drop-down menus. You must obtain the medical records from the facility the appointment or procedure took place.
  3. Select the delivery method in which you wish to receive the record. You may request and obtain your medical record copies in the following ways:
EmailMail
FaxIn-person

If you need more information on where or how to obtain medical records, you may call the Health Information Management Office at 516 465 8920.

How Much Should I Expect to Pay for My Medical Records?

If you need to obtain medical records to go to another doctor or healthcare facility to provide the patient with further care or treatment, New York State law dictates no fee charged for the copies.

However, if you need the records for personal or other use, you need to check with the facility where you obtained the document for information about the fee. The fees usually involve a one-time nominal processing fee and sometimes a per-page fee. You will most likely need to discuss the cost with the HIM representative in the applicable facility.

Let DoNotPay Help You Obtain North Shore Medical Records:

Retrieving your medical records on your own from North Shore University Hospital may represent quite a hassle.

You need to weed through several to make sure you've selected the correct one, and then you need to decide how to obtain the records. Not many of us want to wait on the phone or rely on the mail. And, who wants to go out to a medical facility if it's unnecessary?!

DoNotPay will help you avoid the red tape and get you the necessary records with one easy process. Just follow the steps below:

  1. Look up medical records on DoNotPay’s website.
  2. Enter the name of the health care provider you’d like to receive medical records from.
  3. Answer a few questions about your provider and where you’d like to send the records.

Let DoNotPay Help with all Your Medical Records Needs:

DoNotPay will help you with a variety of your medical record needs. Below you'll find a sampling of information to obtain and learn about medical records:

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