Your medical records belong to you. Under the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), every provider and hospital in the United States must give you access to your records — usually within 30 days of your request.
What you can request
- Doctor's notes and hospital discharge summaries
- Lab, pathology, and imaging results (with the actual images on CD or electronically)
- Medication list and immunization history
- Billing records
- Mental health notes (with limited exceptions for psychotherapy process notes)
How to request records
- Contact the provider's medical records or health information management office
- Ask whether they have an online patient portal — many records are available instantly
- If you need paper or electronic copies, submit a written request
- You may be charged a reasonable, cost-based fee for copies
If a provider does not respond within 30 days, you can file a complaint with the HHS Office for Civil Rights.
Fixing errors
If you find something wrong — a wrong diagnosis, an incorrect medication, the wrong allergy — you have the right to request an amendment. The provider must respond in writing.
Portal tips
- Enable two-factor authentication
- Download important results as PDFs so you have a copy outside the portal
- Link accounts across the family only where legally allowed
- If your provider uses one of the major national portals, ask about consolidating records from multiple systems
Sharing records with a new provider
- Ask your old provider to send records directly using the portal or fax
- Bring imaging on a CD or upload it to the new provider's portal
- Bring a printed medication and allergy list to every new appointment
Key takeaways
- Records are yours by law
- Portals are the fastest way to see labs and notes
- Errors can and should be corrected in writing
- OCR complaints are free and taken seriously
Source: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — HIPAA for Individuals.