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RCW 70.02.010(38) allows health care providers to charge medical records copy fees for searching and duplicating health care records. The law requires a biannual adjustment on those rates, and the Department of Health recently adopted new rates that become effective on May 28, 2020.
WAC 246-08-400 states that the fees a provider may now charge cannot exceed the fees listed below:
(1) Copying charge per page:
a. No more than one dollar and twenty-four cents ($1.24) per page for the first thirty pages;
b. No more than ninety-four ($.94) cents per page for all other pages.
(2) Additional charges:
a. The provider can charge a twenty-eight ($28.00) dollar clerical fee for searching and handling records;
b. If the provider personally edits confidential information from the record, as required by statute, the provider can charge the usual fee for a basic office visit.[1]
These new rates do not overrule or bypass the HITECH law, which prohibits a health care provider from charging the per page fee in Washington for paper copies if the electronic format is available and if the request is signed by the patient. At Adler Giersch, our offices have transitioned into an electronic record system and much prefer receiving records in an electronic format. It saves time for us and money for our clients/your patients.
If you have any questions concerning the production or records, the new medical records copy fees rates or how best to proceed with a request for records, please send us an email at [email protected].
[1] See WAC 246-08-400(2)(b). This should rarely be an issue unless the record contains HIPAA protected information on another patient, e.g. marriage counseling.
