Does anyone know about the HIPAA laws?

My physician sold office #1 to concentrate on office #2.My records are at office #1 and I want them to go to office #2.I'm told I have to pay to have them copied so the originals stay at office #1.The Doc that bought #1, I have never seen, and why should he have rights to my PRIVATE file.I never signed a privacy notice for the new Doc only MY Doc, so My Doc should have my file.Any legal help would be appreciated. Thanks

It is definitely your right to chose your own doctor and the physician that bought your doctor's office has absolutely no right to access your medical records without your permission...Furthermore, you shouldn't have to pay to get a copy of your records since they belong to you...

Have you discussed this with your doctor (the one that sold the office #1)? He should be able to help you; if not you can always proceed legally and you will definitely win the case...The HIPAA regulations on medical record confidentiality issues are very strict and clear...

sounds like you have the answers. NO you do not have to pay anything to have your file go to the doctor intended. matter of fact the doctor already has them. if he is legit. call the office #one and mention the fact if you do not get your files that you will be contacting the state to report the incident.

http://www.hipaa.org/

First of all, your records at your physician's office belong to THE PHYSICIAN, not you. I know that sounds odd, but it's the way it works. You do have a right to them, to a degree, but they will determine oftentimes where the chart will go.

Most offices, however, will copy them for either free or very little. Maybe you can strike a deal with them.

It sounds like they are being very unreasonable transferring your records or how they're handling them at all. Read up on the HIPAA laws, take some notes, and go have a heart-to-heart with either your physician or the office manager. I'm willing to bet you're not the first one with this complaint.

Good luck to you.

Office#1 may be required to keep the originals because you were treated at that medical establishment, regardless of doctor. If you were to sue that establishment for any reason, there would need to be a record you were there. You should sign a release for the copies.

It is standard practice to charge for copies of medical records, since it costs somebody money to copy them. Nobody has to do anything free for anyone, but they may do so as a courtesy on a case by case basis.

OK, listen up!

Did yer doc sell just the office -meaning the property and equipment- or did he sell the practice itself? If he sold the practice, that means he sold the business, including the patients. In other words, he sold YOU.

Normally, the transfer of records from one office to another would happen in the background so that a new doc (say, in a new city where you just moved) is up to speed on your case. You would not normally be charged for this.

But in this case, the sale agreement between the new doc and your old one (the one you want to keep) may say that your old doctor simply doesn't have access to previous patient data except upon the patient's request. And yes, the new office can charge you a "reasonable" copying fee.

HIPAA has nothing to do with it. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (often wrongly called HIPPA -as though it were some kind of large mammal) simply spells out the regulations relative to protecting your privacy and the means that must be taken to assure that no patient data be exposed to the wrong people. The Act is so comprehensive that it has been applied to privacy in other areas, such as banking and credit, which is why you get those wacky "We care about your privacy" notices and why you have to stand behind a line at the prescription counter. It is onerous and ridiculous and also doesn't even work -but it does not apply to your situation.

In any case, the problem you've encountered probanly has its roots in the sale agreement between old and new doc -so, talk to your old doc at office #2 to get the "skinny."