Medical Records Access Act.

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Medical Records Access Act.
Short Title
Official Text Medical Records Access Act.
Country/Jurisdiction United States
State or Province Michigan
Regulatory Bodies
Date Enacted 2004

Scope of the Law Health
Information

Taxonomy Breach of Confidentiality, Exclusion, Identification, Insecurity, Interrogation
Strategies


Text of the law

Section 333.26265
MEDICAL RECORDS ACCESS ACT (EXCERPT) Act 47 of 2004
333.26265 Request by authorized individual to examine or obtain medical record; response by health care provider or facility; extension of response time.
Sec. 5. Interrogation
(1) Except as otherwise provided by law or regulation, a patient or his or her authorized representative has the right to examine or obtain the patient's medical record.
(2) An individual authorized under subsection (1) who wishes to examine or obtain a copy of the patient's medical record shall submit a written request that is signed and dated by that individual not more than 60 days before being submitted to the health care provider or health facility that maintains the medical record that is the subject of the request. Upon receipt of a request under this subsection, a health care provider or health facility shall, as promptly as required under the circumstances, but not later than 30 days after receipt of the request or if the medical record is not maintained or accessible on-site not later than 60 days after receipt of the request, do 1 or more of the following:
(a) Make the medical record available for inspection or copying, or both, at the health care provider's or health facility's business location during regular business hours or provide a copy of all or part of the medical record, as requested by the patient or his or her authorized representative.
(b) If the health care provider or health facility has contracted with another person or medical records company to maintain the health care provider's or health facility's medical records, the health care provider or health facility shall transmit a request made under this subsection to the person or medical records company maintaining the medical records. The health care provider or health facility shall retrieve the medical record from the person or medical records company maintaining the medical records and comply with subdivision (a) or shall require the person or medical records company that maintains that medical record to comply with subdivision (a).
(c) Inform the patient or his or her authorized representative if the medical record does not exist or cannot be found. Exclusion
(d) If the health care provider or health facility to which the request is directed does not maintain the medical record requested and does not have a contract with another person or medical records company as described in subdivision (b), so inform the patient or his or her authorized representative and provide the name and address, if known, of the health care provider or health facility that maintains the medical records.
(e) If the health care provider or health facility determines that disclosure of the requested medical record is likely to have an adverse effect on the patient, the health care provider or health facility shall provide a clear statement supporting that determination and provide the medical record to another health care provider, health facility, or legal counsel designated by the patient or his or her authorized representative.
(f) If the health care provider or health facility receives a request for a medical record that was obtained from someone other than a health care provider or health facility under a confidentiality agreement, the health care provider or health facility may deny access to that medical record if access to that medical record would be reasonably likely to reveal the source of the information. If the health care provider or health facility denies access under this subdivision, it shall provide the patient or his or her authorized representative with a written denial. Exclusion, Insecurity, Breach of Confidentiality
(g) The health care provider, health facility, or medical records company shall take reasonable steps to verify the identity of the person making the request to examine or obtain a copy of the patient's medical record. Identification, Interrogation
(3) If the health care provider, health facility, or medical records company is unable to take action as required under subsection (2) and the health care provider, health facility, or medical records company provides the patient with a written statement indicating the reasons for its delay within the required time period, the health care provider, health facility, or medical records company may extend the response time for no more than 30 days. A health care provider, health facility, or medical records company may only extend the response time once per request under this subsection.
333.26267 Inquiry as to purpose prohibited.
Sec. 7.
A health care provider or health facility that receives a request for a medical record under section 5 shall not inquire as to the purpose of the request.
333.26269 Fee.
Sec. 9.
(1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, if a patient or his or her authorized representative makes a request for a copy of all or part of his or her medical record under section 5, the health care provider, health facility, or medical records company to which the request is directed may charge the patient or his or her authorized representative a fee that is not more than the following amounts:
(a) An initial fee of $20.00 per request for a copy of the record.
(b) Paper copies as follows:
(i) One dollar per page for the first 20 pages.
(ii) Fifty cents per page for pages 21 through 50.
(iii) Twenty cents for pages 51 and over.
(c) If the medical record is in some form or medium other than paper, the actual cost of preparing a duplicate.
(d) Any postage or shipping costs incurred by the health care provider, health facility, or medical records company in providing the copies.
(e) Any actual costs incurred by the health care provider, health facility, or medical records company in retrieving medical records that are 7 years old or older and not maintained or accessible on-site.
(2) A health care provider, health facility, or medical records company may refuse to retrieve or copy all or part of a medical record for a patient or his or her authorized representative until the applicable fee is paid.
(3) A health care provider, health facility, or medical records company shall not charge a fee for retrieving, copying, or mailing all or part of a medical record other than a fee allowed under subsection (1). Except as otherwise provided in subsection (4), a health care provider, health facility, or medical records company shall waive all fees for a medically indigent individual. The health care provider, health facility, or medical records company may require the patient or his or her authorized representative to provide proof that the patient is a recipient of assistance as described in this subsection.
(4) A medically indigent individual that receives copies of medical records at no charge under subsection (3) is limited to 1 set of copies per health care provider, health facility, or medical records company. Any additional requests for the same records from the same health care provider, health facility, or medical records company shall be subject to the fee provisions under subsection (1).
(5) Notwithstanding subsection (1), a health care provider, health facility, or medical records company shall not charge a patient an initial fee for his or her medical record.
(6) Beginning 2 years after the effective date of this act, the department of community health shall adjust on an annual basis the fees prescribed by subsection (1) by an amount determined by the state treasurer to reflect the cumulative annual percentage change in the Detroit consumer price index.
333.26271 Applicability of act to third party payer.
Sec. 11.
This act does not apply to copies of medical records provided to a third party payer, insurer as defined in section 106 of the insurance code of 1956, 1956 PA 218, MCL 500.106, or self-funded plan.
History: 2004, Act 47, Imd. Eff. Apr. 1, 2004



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