If you are pursuing a personal injury claim, your medical records are some of the best forms of evidence you can have in your arsenal. Note, however, that you won't have unfettered access to all manner of information in your medical records. Here is some of the information that the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act 1996 (HIPAA) allows your doctor to keep away from you:
Your Doctor's Notes
Your doctor's notes aren't your personal records; they are the products of the doctor's work. The notes are where your doctor keeps their thoughts, first impressions, and even reminders to other people on their staff. This means the notes do not necessarily contain information you might be interested in, and some of the information may be incomplete or even erroneous. For example, the doctor's first impressions of your symptoms aren't necessarily the right ones as revealed by further diagnosis. Therefore, the law allows them to keep the notes private even from you.
Information That May Cause Public Panic
In some cases, the doctor may withhold information from you not because of what may happen to you, but because of what may happen to the public. This means the doctor has the right to keep information from you if they believe it may harm the public, for example, by causing riots. A good example is if you have been diagnosed with a highly infectious disease that the public fear.
Information from Other Doctors
Note that your current doctor may have the information they received from other doctors. Your current doctor doesn't have the right to furnish you with this form of information; if you need them, make a request from the original doctors.
Information That May Cause You Harm
Note all parts of your medical record will be beneficial to you. In fact, some of them may be plain harmful to your health. If that is the case, then the doctor has the right to deny you the information. For example, if you have a high risk of heart attack, stroke or depression, the doctor may withhold extremely stressful information from you so as to prevent those attacks.
Consult a personal injury attorney if you are having problems accessing your medical records and you need them for your injury claim. Don't forget that inadequate medical records can derail the whole process. In fact, it's best to retain the attorney to help you out with the claim process and possible litigation.
Share27 July 2017
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