How To Request Your Medical Records
Your doctors have access to the most valuable data in your life—but you don’t. You have full access to your financial information through your bank, but your health information is controlled by your doctor. And if you have a pre-existing condition, you have multiple doctors with separate systems holding your health information hostage.
Having instant access to your health information matters in every health situation. That is why it is imperative that you request your medical records from your doctors. In a timely example, think of the profile of people most vulnerable to COVID-19. People with pre-existing conditions including diabetes, heart disease, auto-immune conditions and more. Our care needs are very complex.
If you are receiving care in an emergency, the first goal of emergency physicians is to stabilize you. Then they have to treat you with a full understanding of your complex care needs.
But how can doctors treat us right when they don’t have a full picture of our health history, especially when lives hang in the balance? Electronic medical records, if available, don’t tell the entire story. They may only contain partial data from one doctor. With COVID-19 or any other situation, knowing your health history, any pre-existing conditions, medications taken, and other critical information can reduce unintended errors while informing treatment plans.
Simply stated, having your data can save your life.
But access to that health information is sparse. Our health information resides with each doctor we have in closed systems that don’t talk to each other. And if we have pre-existing conditions, we have multiple physicians.
What can we do?
We have to learn the lesson right in front of us from COVID-19—and that is to Be Ready for any health situation. It could be an emergency or a regular doctor visit. You have to be ready.
Request Your Medical Records from your doctors
You will be ready for any health situation by requesting your medical records from your doctors. HIPAA mandates that your doctor MUST provide you a copy of your medical record. And they have to provide your data for free.
FREE Request Medical Records Letter Template
Care3 (fka Karen Health) has created a proven template you can use to make your request. To get a FREE Request Medical Records template, simply enter your email below.
We will send you your FREE template in moments. The template letter includes all relevant information. Just add your information and send to your doctors.
Your data belongs to you by law. They have to give it to you for FREE. You can make the request by email.
By providing your email, you will receive future free templates automatically and other information to help you manage your health information. That is our mission—to help you control your medical information.