How much did your medical records cost?
I've put off getting my medical records for my c-section because I didn't want to ...well, tick off my doctors. But I am just really curious! And the day is approaching! I am scheduled for a RCS at the end of July in my 40th week, but if I go inot labor before then, I will try for a VBAC.
I've never been able to make up mind which one I really want and I am wondering if the records will help. I'm afraid there won't be anything new there and I'll just potentially anger my OB's for nothing, but I finally made the call! The lady that took my call wasn't sure how much it would cost yet, though.
How much did it cost you? It seems it might be just 60 cents a page, which isn't bad...but are we talking about hundereds of pages?
Thanks!
Re: How much did your medical records cost?
I am thinking about requesting mine from the hospital, I want to see if it acknowledges that fact that I knew I wasn't numb before they cut me open. I haven't yet because I didn't want to upset my ob, but it wasn't his fault. So why do I care? (a little more info, we work in the same building so I see him about once a week at least)
But 60 cents in standard, some states have laws about it too, in maryland that is the most they can charge. I wouldn't imagine it could be too many pages.
I don't think doctors know when medical records are requested, because it's usually just handled by office staff, right? Also, if you're worried about pissing off your provider by requesting something that belongs to you, it's probably a sign they shouldn't be your provider.
I didn't pay anything for mine, but I got them directly from the hospital records department. I later requested my first son's records after we had moved out of state, and I got a shitastic copy that I paid a gazillion dollars for (I think it was around $40? But his records were huuuuuge bc he was hospitalized for a week after birth).
Like someone else said, you could specifically ask for just the specifics about the c-section, because it'll be less pages.
DS2 - Oct 2010 (my VBAC baby!)
Holly, you sound kind of like me....I don't know for sure that it will make my doctors mad, I'm just worried that it possibly could. And for no reason.....it's not even my intention to really question anything...I just am curious and like to read for myself...I tend to apply things better that way. So, if it truly would cause problems, I just don't want to hassle with it, so it's really not that important to me. (It reminds me of that Seinfeld episode where Elaine wanted her records and then no one wanted to see her.)
And also, I am in PA, but it is near MD, so that is where my doctors are, too. I'm at the same practice that I was at for my son, but you usually see a different OB or midwife each time. Now that I do have a scheduled RCS for my week 40, though, I think I'll be seeing the same doc each time. He wasn't the dr that did my original c-section.....(she wasn't able to be on the schedule for this one at that time)...but he was my post-op doc last time.
I'm so nervous both ways, though. I'm so nervous that I'll go into labor before my RCS; and I'm so nervous to go in for my RCS! I'm hoping that reading my file might make one direction easier than the other! (But probably not...it's just one of those things for me! There isn't an easy answer, so it's hard to commit.)
Thanks everyone for the info! I hope they just don't print them all before they tell me how much they are! If it is anywhere even near 60 dollars, I'm sure my husband will think I am even crazier....he thinks I'm obsessed with all of this as it is!
Ditto to all of this.
It's usually free if they send the records to another provider, but it's pretty common to charge patients for their records. I believe HIPAA says the fee must be reasonable, but even when they charge a reasonable amount per page, it can add up if you order a lot of pages.
Mine didn't cost anything. I don't know if it mattered, but I sent a release of information from my new doctor's office. I ended up picking it up, though, so I got to see everything and take copies!
Same thing for me. But I work at a dr.'s office, so they are being sent to my work. I didn't want to do that, if it was cheap, since people can see my info, but I really want to see them.
What is it you really want to know? Do you really want all their notes for your entire pregnancy? Or just anything to do with your labor? Or just the part about the surgery? Just thinking that you probably don't even want to read 100+ pages, just the few relevant ones.
I only ordered my operative report, so the details of the surgery. It's what the new OB wanted to know about my c/s and was 2 pages. Also, it is ordered from the hospital records department, not the OB, so no chance of someone getting upset..
I personally want to know stuff about my surgery, the baby at the hospital (like if the ped. actually did think she was premature, which was my nurses 1st words when i awoke from surgery.) and some stuff that happened afterwards. my 100+ pages are just hospital.
And there is still the chance the drs. may find out. people talk.
Especially if they think a lawsuit could be brewing.