Do I have the right to read my own medical records? What recourse do I have if my therapist refuses to give me a copy of my records?
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ANSWERS: 2
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yes i belive mental health records are the same as hospital medical records. theres steps to follow, medical release signed in person with picture I.D., takes 7/10 days to be delivered by mail. as for refusal, seek his supervisor or higher upper. EVERYONE has someone above. also you can contact the states mental health outlets to seek assistance if not to obtain but to have therapist repremanded if he is out of line. just be sweet about it; as you catch more flies with honey than vinegar ;)
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Technically yes you have a right to your records. However, therapists often hesitate to release records if they feel it is detrimental to the client. B/c of how the insurance business is therapists often have to put a negative slant on charting that a client may misunderstand. I would suggest you talk to your therapist and explain why you want a copy of your records and if s/he says no then ask them to explain why. If after all that you still want the records then you can call a patient advocacy group for help.
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Zotron You may (must) have misunderstood. The question wasn't about mental health records, but I just wanted to comment that "... insurance... negative slant..." reads as "falsifying records for financial gain". And if the patient were allowed to read it, there might be some discrepancy between "records" and reality.
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