The physician or therapist you've been seeing for years has suddenly become gravely ill or died.  What do you do now about all of those medical or therapy records that they have accumulated over the years?  Who owns them?  What can you do to secure the information?

According to most experts in the field, while the patient, with regard to medical records, has no right to the physical records, e.g., x-rays, test results, notes or other information, the patient owns the information.  Information, as we all know, is extremely valuable and can be used in a variety of ways to monetize a practice, especially a medical practice, and that can be of concern to us.

If that information is ours, don't we have a right to restrict the distribution or sale of these records?  The answer would seem to be in the affirmative.  But who is going to tell you where those records are and did you even know that you have a right, in most cases, to request and receive a copy of all of your medical records?

Unfortunately, the same does not hold true for therapy notes where the therapist must make a decision regarding whether or not the information is in your best interest.  While you may believe that everything that was placed in the therapist's record should be accessible by you and given to you, that is not the understanding in terms of legal matters. 

A therapist may claim that providing you with certain information could prove to be detrimental to you and, therefore, that person has a right to withhold it from you.  In fact, in many instances, you may be permitted to make notes of some therapists' notes but you may not receive actual copies of the notes.

What about the question of authorization?  Medical records, as in the case of a physician who suddenly closes their practice or sells their practice, may be sent to the physician or group buying that physician's practice, but you may not have received information about this.  In this instance, shouldn't you have a right to sign an authorization that all of this material related to you may be sent on to another physician or group practice? 

Remember, the physical charts are owned by the physician, but you own the information.  You can't separate one from the other.  How could you possibly send a chart to someone and the patient says that they have a right to that information and the new physician or group doesn't?  It is a conundrum.

What about corrections that have never been made in the original chart?  How would you even know that there were corrections to be made, if you never saw those physical charts?  Who among us has ever had their physician say, "Would you like to see your chart?"  No one usually would have this opportunity and, if you asked for it, they would probably tell you that you have to provide some authorization in writing and that you would be required to pay a certain amount of money if you would like to get copies of your chart. 

The process can be minded boggling and can cause you to throw up your hands in despair and give up.  Should the years of medical records be permitted to be lost, given away, and not made accessible to you?  Treating medical records in this manner, appears to be a rather old procedure that needs some updating, especially in terms of health providers' information in that chart.  The information could prove to be detrimental to you if it had not been recorded accurately and you were seeking medical care or medical insurance.

A link has been provided below regarding states laws related to medical records ownership and physical conveyance of this information to others. We have also provided a link for information on psychotherapy notes and patient access.

Government link: http://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-individuals/medical-records/index.html

HIPPA: https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/special-topics/mental-health/index.html

State laws on medical records: http://wwww.healthinfolaw.org/comparative-analysis/who-owns-medical-records-50-state-comparison