Disgusted

[saveone]

It is not a word I use lightly.  I have been trying to get a copy of my notes from my neuro since the first week in December.  They have always had an excuse.  He dictated them and they haven't been transcribed.  Then several weeks later they used the same excuse.  

Today I lost it.  i said  Under HIPPA the information in the record belongs to me.  i am not asking for a summary just copy the notes from the chart and I will be there to pick them up.  Their response...we can not release hand written notes from the doctor.  On and on we went back and forth.  She said I will have to take a message for the office manager.  I said, "I just spoke to the office manager so I know she is there".  She puts me on hold returns and says the office manager said to take your phone number and she will speak to the doctor..

I am disgusted.  I called the KY Medical Board and spoke to the legal department.  They are sending him a letter.  Then I spoke to my disability worker (I know they are supposed to be the enemy but she is great).  She said maybe I will give them a call.  I told her to go at it but they were angry with me.  She said well they will just have one more person to be angry at.  45 mins latter I get a call from the office manager saying she just spoke to my disability worker and explained the problems they have been having and my worker would have the summary in three days.

I don't know whether to spit or go blind I am so angry.  I guess this mean I have to find another neuro....lol.

All of this su   cks!

terry

[Fluffysmom]

OK, I'll get to work on it today.

terry, I would like to see the site that you found, if it's easy to find again.  I won't get my friend's help until this evening, and it would be good to start getting things organized before then.  I hope you like your new counselor.

I have physical therapy in a couple of hours. I'll have to tell my PT how much pain her exercises put me in, even when I modified them, then about my abdominal pain and trip to the ER (I felt to awful to go in for PT for a couple weeks).  Should be fun.

I'm looking forward to this project!

Kathy

[saveone]

Kathy, that is great  I think so many of us get frustrated.    I went to the OCR site.  I couldn't find the complaint form.  That was why I called the ky medical board.  I had found a site where you could look at the law state by state.  As you know the states can have stricter laws but if they do not the HIPPA law tops what they have.  I have to see my counselor today...I am getting  a new one, my old one moved.  I will find the site again to pm it to you for use if you choose.

terry

[Quixotic1]

Go for it!

Quix :)))))

[Fluffysmom]

I would be more than willing to do a Health Page (with my HIPAA friend's help) with an explanation of the law, actually, a copy of the law that you can take to the doctor's offfice along with a form that you can use to file a formal complaint, to make it clear that they must comply with the law.

The Office of Civil Rights is who you would contact to file a complaint.  You can access the form on line.  OCR is a federal agency, with different districts around the country.  For instance, I live in Portland, but our district OCR is in Seattle.

My best friend has volunteered to help me get all the information for a tidy Health Page, for those who are interested in the letter of this law, and how to file a complaint, or to just light a small fire under someone's feet so you can get your records.

She says that when confronted by the actual law on paper and the complaint form, it is much more effective than just mentioning the law to wherever you need records from.

Let me know if anyone thinks this is a good idea.

Kathy

[saveone]

One more comment.  My disability worker is going to approve my claim.  She has already placed me in payment status so I can have medical assistance.  She is well aware I would rather be my old self than a disability check.  She has said, again today, if I have this last doctors notes I can close your case.  This even after I saw the SSA doc for an eval. which she has already received.  i guess even he saw enough to convince him I was legit.

[saveone]

My intent is to hold them accountable.  I have the legal dept of the KY medical Board sending him a letter.  I am not sure exactly what it will say.  The attorney said she would also send me a copy.  I will let everyone know what it says when I get it.  She confirmed what I knew that they have 30 days to get my records to me.  I informed her I was not asking for just the summary but a copy of the doctors written notes.  She said if they did not comply my only recourse would be to file a grievance.  I have bee trying to find penalties and process for their non-compliance.  If you know please tell me.  

I get the feeling I will get something but I am not sure what.  It is also very easy to doctor (no pun intended) a chart.  It is also very illegal but you have to have proof and I don't.  All he would have to do is rewrite his notes.  He only makes short ones, usually directly on whatever testing he has received back.  I don't trust him.  he may try to scr#w the pooch.  The pooch being me.

Anyways any info you can give me I would appreciate or point me in the right direction.  I am a pretty nice person until I have had enough.  I was thinking back to when I worked as director of the MRDD program, if my staff had been this disrespectful or inept I would have fired them.  Indeed I did fire them.  The way I am looking at it he works for me, I am not happy, so time to fire him.

Looking forward to any info your have

terry

[Quixotic1]

My explanation is that they "may not" refuse to give you any or all of your records and they have a specific time limit to do it.  They "can" do it by just refusing and taking the chance that you won't invoke the law.  They are committing a federal crime by not getting the records to you.  The question is - are you going to hold their feet to the fire?

Quix

[Fluffysmom]

With my disability, once I got an attorney, I was approved in a relatively short amount of time, after being denied twice.  You just need to find an ethical attorney.

As for the issue of your records; with HIPAA having been a law for years now, your doctor's office is bound by law to get your records to you; all of them that you request.  The amount of time they have varies from state to state; I think the maximum is 60 days.

Excused and B.S. don't add extra days to that time limit.

If they do not comply, they can be fined large sums of money; tens of thousands of dollars. You did not authorize them to send your records to your disability worker; I believe that might be a violation, too.

They are allowed to charge you for records, with a maximum amount set.  Most offices don't charge, though some use a company to do their copying and sending out records.  I got a bill for a just over a dollar for one page of records, and they wasted 4 more pieces of paper on forms.  Sheesh!

My best friend is a HIPAA training and compliance officer; I've been known to offer to send someone to a doctor's office to train their staff in complying with the law.  Usually as I'm leaving for good, but it makes me feel better.

You also have a right to contest things that are in your medical chart, insisting that accurate medical information be all that is included.  

Those of us that have the least strength and energy to advocate for ourselves are most in need of accurate medical records and timely access to them.  If you don't have the energy, ask a disability worker, a family member, a loved one, a friend; whoever is able to help you get what you need and deserve.

My best friend has been an enormous amount of help and a great source of information for me.  She has answered questions for people on the forum before, too.

I'll ask her who it is that you contact in each state to find out just what the HIPAA guidelines are for that state.  

Here's to helping ourselves and helping each other;

Hugs,

Kathy

[saveone]

I love the OOPS part.  I smiled at that one.  I think arrogance is another reason.

I also have my suspicions about this doctor.  today I began thinking about why he wouldn't give me my records.  Here is my thoughts and I may be wrong.

The first visit he asked who my disability lawyer was.  I told him I didn't have one I wasn't aware I was disabled.  Second visit the same question.  He also commented that he couldn't help me with my disability until he knew what was wrong.  I still had not filed for disability.  Eventually I had to because the medical bills were piling up.  About the fourth visit I answered I had filed but did not have an attorney.  If they turned me down then I would get an attorney.  I had nothing to hide and first I would just be truthful and see what happened.

Here is the catch.  If you are turned down then hire an attorney the attorney usually works on commission.  Say 30% of your settlement. If the doc and the attorney work together then they hold you off with dx for a year the pay for the attorney is higher and the doc might get a kick back.  I am not saying this is gospel only I have my suspicions.  I have a few more reasons to back this up but I will stop here.

Thanks for your support.

[deborah0904]

I had the same problem with one of the Dr.'s I visited.  I love the Dr. but his office people are deplorable.  I really sympathize with you.  Sorry you are having so much problems!

[ChunkyMonkeysMommy]

I'm so frustrated for you! I've been needing to call and get copies of all of my records, also, since I moved and will never see those old docs again, I really need to have copies of everything, readily available. I've been procrastinating because every time I tried to get them in the past, one doctor in particular would always refuse to give them to me and would only agree to forward them to another physician. I could never figure out why they wouldn't let me have copies of my own records. I found out why. It seems this physician's office has a habit of writing negative comments about patients, IN THEIR CHARTS. After the run around they gave me in the past, I can only imagine what it says in there, and they forward that stuff to other physicians! I know now why it took so long to find a doctor to take me seriously, because of the notes this doctor probably wrote about me! They wrote in my mother's chart that she was "a problem patient"! My mother is an ordained minister and would in no way deserve such comments about her. They wrote that because the nurse practitioner that my mother and step-father were seeing left the practice and they requested to have their records forwarded to another physician's office, since they could no longer see the person that they always had. No big deal, right? Obviously, it was. They didn't realize that the doctor's office they were sending this note to was now related to my mother, lol. OOPS!!!

Anyway, I don't understand why they think they can refuse us this information! Maybe Quix can answer this?