Obtaining Medical Records
To request your records, start by contacting or visiting your provider’s health information management (HIM) department—sometimes called the medical records or health information services department. Smaller doctor’s offices may not have an HIM department, so ask to speak to the administrative staff in charge of releasing patient records.
The first step will be completing an “Patient Access Request (or similarly titled)” form.
A growing number of healthcare facilities offer their Patient Access Request forms online so they can be completed ahead of time. Some facilities allow patients to mail or e-mail the form if requesting certain record services, such as transferring records to another provider or payer covered by HIPAA.
Many doctors offices now offer patient portals that allow for patients to access their own records through a secure portal. These records can be downloaded and used for your medical translation.
