Health
Your right of access to your own medical records
Federal law gives a right of access with deadlines and fee limits, and most refusals are a misunderstanding rather than a position.
Federal privacy rules give patients a right to inspect and obtain a copy of their records, generally within thirty days, with one limited extension. The right covers the designated record set, including test results and clinical notes, and it applies to electronic copies where they exist.
Fees are limited to a reasonable, cost-based amount, and several common practices are not permitted — charging a search or retrieval fee, or requiring a reason for the request. A provider may not refuse access because a bill is outstanding.
You can also direct that a copy be sent to somebody else, and request amendment of information you believe is wrong. A provider that declines to amend must say so in writing, and you may add a statement of disagreement to the record.
Where a request is refused or delayed, complaints go to the federal Office for Civil Rights, which has taken enforcement action over access failures specifically.
What to do next. Make the request in writing, cite the thirty-day period, and complain to the Office for Civil Rights if it is refused.
studentaid.gov outranks this page. Rules, figures and dates change
between academic years. This is written to help you read the official sources, not to
stand in front of them. Start there.
Nothing here is a determination. We cannot tell you what you qualify
for, and no website can. The programme and the office that runs it decide that, after
you apply.
Still have a question?
Describe what you are trying to work out and a member of the team will answer, or direct you to the office that makes the decision.