Medical issues, even if covered by insurance can add up to be a very costly matter and the same goes with legal representation. In some cases medical situations are coupled with or followed by someone needing legal assistance. Not only do you pay for the initial medical procedure cost, medication cost, and hospital or doctor visits but there is an additional fee charged for searching, handling, copying, and mailing medical records to the patient or in some cases, the patients designated representative. This fee often varies between each hospital and is regulated differently in every state. Each state has a statue that will describe what the maximum fee charged and what records are associated.
It is important to be aware that a charge will be applied when obtaining your medical records. Especially in today’s economy, getting caught off guard by extra charges, even small ones, can make a big difference. Stay educated about the fee that is associated with your state so you know if your hospital has made a mistake when they charge you, there have been cases in the past where this has happened.
On top of expecting a fee for your documented medical history, you should also expect a little bit of a wait before you actually receive the records. For this reason it is always a good idea to know your medical status: this includes knowing your illness and which medication you are being prescribed and a timeline of illnesses and treatment. If you have a hard time retaining this information it would be a good idea to have your own personal copy of your medical records in case of an emergency.
To look up a specific statue and fee guideline for your state check out the link below for Lamb Law Firm: http://www.lamblawoffice.com/medical-records-copying-charges.html
To acquire your medical records you can talk to your main hospital and they should be able to help. If you have any trouble checks out this site to get some further information:
http://patients.about.com/od/yourmedicalrecords/a/getmedrecords.htm
It is important to be aware that a charge will be applied when obtaining your medical records. Especially in today’s economy, getting caught off guard by extra charges, even small ones, can make a big difference. Stay educated about the fee that is associated with your state so you know if your hospital has made a mistake when they charge you, there have been cases in the past where this has happened.
On top of expecting a fee for your documented medical history, you should also expect a little bit of a wait before you actually receive the records. For this reason it is always a good idea to know your medical status: this includes knowing your illness and which medication you are being prescribed and a timeline of illnesses and treatment. If you have a hard time retaining this information it would be a good idea to have your own personal copy of your medical records in case of an emergency.
To look up a specific statue and fee guideline for your state check out the link below for Lamb Law Firm: http://www.lamblawoffice.com/medical-records-copying-charges.html
To acquire your medical records you can talk to your main hospital and they should be able to help. If you have any trouble checks out this site to get some further information:
http://patients.about.com/od/yourmedicalrecords/a/getmedrecords.htm
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