eClinicalWorks® Practice Management News: Does HIPAA Allow Providers to Charge Patients for Access to Their EMR?

For many years, patients have paid a fee for copies of their medical records. These fees are often in the form of a flat rate or a per page charge. Some providers simply use their state’s fee for public records requests, which is usually $1 per page. However, in light of the emergence of Electronic Medical Records (EMR), is it really fair to continue to charge the same fee that was previously applied to paper records? More importantly, are traditional fees in line with HIPAA requirements?

What Does HIPAA Say?

HIPAA allows providers to charge patients a “reasonable, cost-based fee” for obtaining their medical records. This is not new verbiage. However, the definition of “reasonable, cost-based fee” has changed somewhat now that the Affordable Care Act has required EMR conversion. Simply put, providers can’t charge an unreasonable rate for medical records. What’s reasonable? That is up for debate. One dollar per page doesn’t seem unreasonable when you consider the administrative time to find and send records. However, if you are a patient with a chronic condition, you may have hundreds of pages of medical records. In this case, is charging such a high rate to transfer electronic records to the patient “reasonable?”

Survey Says Most Providers Stick to Old Fees

The American Health Information Management Association recently surveyed health care providers about their fee structure for obtaining medical records. Fifty-three percent charge patients for electronic copies of their medical records and 65 percent charge for paper copies. Sixty-five percent charge less than $1 per page and 24 percent follow their state’s public records fee, which is usually $1 per page. Are these providers in compliance with HIPAA? That question has not been specifically addressed. However, if an office follows state public records rates or the same rate they used to charge for pulling manual paper records, are they really basing the fee on their actual cost?

In light of EMR conversion, it is likely we’ll see some discussion on just what constitutes a “reasonable” fee in the future. For now, it would be advisable for providers to evaluate the fees they charge patients for medical records. Are the fees based on the actual cost to the practice? eClinicalWorks® provides the perfect platform for easy access to patient records, reducing the administrative time required and actual cost for providers. Examine this topic as part of your eClinicalWorks® practice management strategy.