Profiting from your medical records

Ed Normand

Attorney
(866) 735-1102 Ext 336

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Florida law currently limits the amount that a health care provider can charge a patient for a copy of their own medical records. Pursuant to Florida Admin Code Rule 64B8-10.003 the legal charge for Reproducing Medical Records is $1.00 per page for first 25 pages and 25 cents thereafter. Now considering that one can copy records at a for profit printing shop for less than 5 cents per page, that seems to be a pretty fair rate for the physicians.

Sadly, however, some medical groups are lobbying our legislature to allow charges up to $1.00 per page for all medical records. Many physician offices make arrangements with outside companies to handle the record copy service and the service even pays some physicians for the privilege to sell the patient their own records. They do this at the current reimbursement rate and so the copy companies want to make more money by raising the legal limit that physicians can charge. The medical providers like it because they, in turn, get paid more by the copy companies for the privilege of giving a patient copies of their own records.

The issue is should a health care provider turn your medical records into a profit center? A reasonable rate is fine but a dollar a page is outrageous and an insult to consumers and patients who want to retain a copy of their own medical chart. Especially in this economy where no industry except the health care industry is expanding should we be putting additional burdens on consumers.

Do your part. Call your local legislative representative and call Governor Crist and Say NO WAY to increased costs for getting your own medical records.