Your Right To Inspect And Amend Your Medical Records

Your duty to review your medical records might be as important as the duty to review your credit report. Do you know who can examine your medical records? Can you make changes to your medical records? Why would you?

Consider my friend’s inability to obtain medical insurance due to an error in his medical records. While employed, he was covered under the company’s group medical plan. Unfortunately, he was laid off and forced to rely upon COBRA coverage for eighteen months.

At the end of eighteen months, he could not obtain insurance on the open market due to a diagnoses of a pre-existing condition. He disagreed with that conclusion. While he ultimately found a solution to the problem, it might have been prevented earlier if he was able to examine and amend his medical records. 

Our office will sometimes have an expert review medical records. This usually happens when the agent under a medical power of attorney (usually the children of the patient) do not feel their parent is receiving proper care.

The cost of obtaining the medical records can depend upon whether the request comes from the patient’s representative, or directly from our office. The rules and formulas governing review of medical records can be complex. Few consumers are aware of their right to inspect, and ability to amend, medical records.

Fortunately, Georgetown University received a grant from the National Library of Medicine to research and assemble the rules for each jurisdiction. The Pennsylvania rules are attached to this article as a PDF file. Read the booklet to learn your rights to inspect and amend your medical records.

Stay well until the next post.
-Bob Gasparro

Robert Gasparro is an Elder Practitioner (an accountant and attorney). He can be reached at robert.gasparro@lifespanlegal.com or 484-297-2050.