About a year ago, we read about about Dorothy Tillman’s heroic efforts to get a copy of her aunt’s medical records.
Here’s a recap: On a Saturday evening Dorothy took her 86 year old aunt to a hospital in Montgomery, Alabama. Frustrated after an overnight stay in the ER which she said yielded “little treatment”, she requested a copy of her aunt’s medical records before leaving. When she was told that it was hospital policy to request records “in writing”, Dorothy escalated her requests for the records. Refusing to leave without the records, she was brought to the floor by security guards and arrested on charges of criminal trespassing.
The Chicago Tribune reports that Dorothy has been VINDICATED!
- The hospital dropped the charges of trespassing
- Dorothy’s attorney agreed she would not pursue a civil action against the hospital and “everything would be taken care of” by the settlement.
The point of the story:
We often don’t realize just HOW important health and medical information is for the welfare of ourselves and our loved ones. Recognizing the value of this information, Dorothy was willing to go to jail for it.
Today under the HIPAA Privacy Rule, you have a “right” to get a copy of your medical records held by hospitals, doctors, health plans and others. Your care providers have up to 30 days to meet your request.
What good is that? 30 days??!!
Is a “right” really a right if you have no practical way of exercising that right?
What’s a better standard than "30 days"? In today’s digital world, we must work toward a standard of "NOW!"
…and we’ll be thanking Dororty Tillman for helping bring us to our senses.
Article Series - We want our medical records! NOW!
- “Give me Auntie’s medical records or put me in the slammer!”
- Going to the Mat for Dorothy
- Dorothy Tillman Update: Vindication!
Just to play devils advocate, a now policy wouldn’t be cost effective for the Hospital. Granted medical records shouldn’t be too hard to pull up and release but then there is always the security factor. Now would be a lot less secure than 30 days where they could verify that you are the right person to release the records to. Electronically storing the files and allowing the patients access to theirs also gives easier access to those files to people who shouldnt have those records.