Can a patient be refused medical records?

Answer 1

In most of the cases the patient cant be refused medical records.

But you can refuse to provide the medical records to the patients if they are not mentally strong or not able to understand. But in such conditions you must provide the medical records to the guardian of the patient.

Some times when the patients wont pay the bills, the hospitals or the labs refuse to give the medical records.

Some corrections...

In America, under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), patients are to be always allowed access to their entire and full medical record, with the exceptions as follows:

• Psychotherapy notes, which can be withheld if it is deemed to be in the patient's best health interests.
• If the patient is in a Correctional Facility.
• Information pertinent to a legal case between holder of the PHI and the patient.
• Health Information obtained as a result of research, during the course of said research (this would include the patient's agreement to participate).
• Information obtained from someone else other than a healthcare provider where such release would endanger the patient or the person who provided the information.
• When information included in the record was obtained under promise of confidentiality from someone else, and revealing the PHI would reveal the confidant's identity.
• When release of the PHI would endanger the life of the patient or other person (subject to review).

Note that a couple of these are pretty bizarre and pertain only to very specialized circumstances. For instance, if you're in a law suit with your doctor, she doesn't have to reveal her defense notes to you. However, using this as a means of not revealing ANYTHING in your patient records would be illegal as well as ridiculous.

The argument that "the patient will not be able to understand the medical record" is not a valid reason for supression of PHI under HIPAA.

For the most part, and in most instances, the patient is entitled to a full review of their own medical records.

Also, failure to pay bills is not a valid reason, under HIPAA, to refuse release of PHI to the patient or to subsequent caregivers. Doing so may have a negative impact on the patient's healthcare picture, which in turn may lead to liabilities in addition to HIPAA violations.

Answer 2

Not at all. You are to ask for medical records at the time of discharge. While both the government hospitals and private hospitals dilly dally in handing over the same, they are legally bound to hand you over. Otherwise you should seek legal recourse by approaching Insurance Ombudsman orConsumer Forum for remedy.