Your Right to Access Your Own Medical Records

These days it is clear that many people and agencies have access to information about you. There are records of your birth and when you earned your first driver’s license. There are records listing your current and any previous addresses and phone numbers. Perhaps, some of the most important records being kept about you are your medical records. Ever since you were born, health professionals have been keeping track of these records.

When Would You Need These Records?

Maybe you have never given these records a second thought. However, many colleges and places of employment want to have a copy of your immunization record. If you have recently changed doctors or insurance companies, then those agencies would probably like to read through your medical history. Did you know that access to these records is your right? After all, those records contain information that is personal to you. The Health Information Portability Accountability Act (HIPAA) guarantees you this right.

How Can You Get These Records?

The laws regarding access to medical records and how to get your own copies of records vary from place to place. One way to overcome any obstacles that may lie in your way is to contact a certified field agent. This professional may be able to obtain your records whether they are located in the files of doctors, hospitals, VA facilities, or medical facilities around the world. When necessary, the field agent may have access to translation services so that the records are in your primary language.

Professional Help

Professional field agents with the appropriate certification can obtain the records that you need, cutting down your legwork and simplifying the process for you. These professionals can obtain your records with your permission and will then provide you a paper copy or a digital copy. If you wish, you can get a both types of record.

Why It Matters

Maybe this all sounds like too much work? With so much Internet communication, it seems that sharing information between doctors and medical centers would be easy, but the fact is that there is not an effective sharing system put into place. So, if you are currently taking medication that was prescribed by one doctor and another doctor gives you an additional prescription, you have to hope that you have remembered to disclose all of your current medicines to avoid dangerous drug interactions.

When you work to maintain your own Personal Health Record, you can share this and other important documentation with any health care professional that you choose to see. As a parent, keeping track of this same information for your children can be invaluable when emergencies arise. If having access to your own records is important to you contact a professional such as Order Medical Records.