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Georgetown Public Policy Institute > Health Policy Institute > Center on Medical Record Rights and Privacy > Getting Your Medical Records > MD

Your Medical Record Rights in Maryland
(A Guide to Consumer Rights Under HIPAA)
by Joy Pritts, JD and Nina L. Kudszus

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Contents

Introduction

  • About this guide
  • Disclaimer
  • Acknowledgments

Overview

  • Summary of your rights
  • Who has to follow these laws?
  • What records do I have the right to get and amend?
  • Who has the right to get and amend my medical record?
  • How long does my provider have to keep my medical record?

Getting Your Medical Record

  • Summary
  • How do I ask for my medical record?
  • What will happen if my request for my medical record is accepted?
  • How long should it take to get my medical record?
  • Can my provider charge me for my medical record?
  • Can I control where my medical record is sent?
  • Can I get a paper, e-mail, or fax copy?
  • Can I get a summary of my medical record?
  • Can my health care provider deny my request?
  • What can I do if my provider denies my request for my record?

Amending (Correcting) Your Medical Record

  • Summary
  • How do I ask my health provider to amend my medical record?
  • What will happen if my request to amend my record is accepted?
  • How long should it take to amend my record?
  • Can my health care provider deny my request?
  • What can I do if my provider denies my request?

Asking Questions and Filing Complaints

  • Who can answer my questions about getting and amending my medical record?
  • What can I do if I believe my rights to get and amend my medical record have been violated?

Words to Know

Where to Find More Information

Words to Know

Correct. This guide uses the word "correct" to mean adding information to your medical record to make it more accurate or complete.

Health Care Agent. This guide uses the term "health care agent" to refer to someone who has been designated to make health care decisions on behalf of another person in an advance directive.

Health Care Provider. In this guide "health care provider" is used to refer to health care practitioners (including doctors, dentists, chiropractors, podiatrists, and others) and health care facilities (such as hospitals, hospices, and home care services).

HIPAA Privacy Rule. A set of legal rules written by the United States Department of Health and Human Services under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). These rules set national standards that give patients the right to see, copy, and amend their own health information. They also set standards protecting the privacy of health information. The HIPAA Privacy Rule does not apply to everyone who keeps health information about you. Health care providers (such as doctors and hospitals) and health plans (such as health insurers and Medicare) have to follow the HIPAA Privacy Rule. Others, such as employers, generally do not have to follow the HIPAA Privacy Rule.

HIPAA. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. This federal law directed the United States Department of Health and Human Services to write rules protecting the privacy of health information. The federal law leaves in place state laws that have privacy protections that are equal to or stronger than the federal law.

Notice of Privacy Practices. A notice that health care providers must give their patients that explains the patients’ rights under the HIPAA Privacy Rule. This notice must also explain how a provider can use health information and share it with others.

Preparation Fee. A fee for the administrative time spent searching for and finding your medical record.

Right of Access. The right to see and get a copy of your medical record.

Right to Amend. The right to correct your health information by adding information to it. The right to amend does not mean a right to have information erased.

Right to Review. The right to have someone else review a health care provider’s denial of a request for a medical record.


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Written by Joy Pritts, J.D., Health Policy Institute, Georgetown University
© 2005 Georgetown University


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