Billing Patients for Medical Records • Renewing Your DEA License • And a Follow-up Question From Last Issue
QUESTION: We have received a request from an attorney's office to release a patient's medical records free of charge because there is a pending Social Security disability claim. It also states that if the appeal is successful, the provider may bill the patient for the records at up to $0.25 per page, plus reasonable clerical costs. How would we know if the appeal was successful and when to bill the patient?
ANSWER: Since all of these records are public, you can track when an appeal is successful online if you know in what court the case is being heard (e.g., 1st District Court of Appeal) and the case number or parties in the case. With this information, you can check the online docket system and retrieve the status of the case. For further information, consult CMA's ON-CALL document #1150, "Patient Access to Medical Records" — available free to SDCMS-CMA members at CMANet.org.
QUESTION: I do not know if my DEA license has expired. How often do I need to renew my license, and how long does it take?
ANSWER: Your DEA license must be renewed every three years. Renewal applications are mailed out 45 days prior to the expiration date to the last address listed with the DEA; however, the United States Postal Service will not forward applications to a new address. Contact the San Diego DEA field office at (858) 616-4100 if you need to change your address. Renewal applications are processed within approximately four weeks.
FOLLOW-UP QUESTION: In the August issue of San Diego Physician, the article "Medical Records Frequently Asked Questions" included the question: "Can I thin and purge medical records prior to storage?" The answer was yes, they may be purged because the originals are maintained by the hospital. As a follow-up to this question, one of our SDCMS member office managers asked if hospice records and their progress notes under the category of hospital records can also be purged from records in storage.
ANSWER: The hospice organization should have its own medical records and, as such, the progress notes are maintained in the hospice record. If copies that are sent from the hospice organization to the physician are included in the office practice medical record, then yes, the notes can be thinned and purged. If the hospice organization does not have its own records, the physician should keep the copies of the progress notes in the office practice medical record. The "Medical Records" article from the August issue, along with all San Diego Physician magazine articles, are posted at SDCMS.org.
PHYSIDICANS AND OFFICE STAFF: DID YOU KNOW?
Did you know that SDCMS member physicians and their office managers have access to hundreds of practice management questions and answers at SDCMS' website? Go to www.SDCMS.org/faq to search from among hundreds of economic, legal, employment, licensure, and other questions critical to successfully managing your practice. To access the answers to the questions located in our online FAQ database, you will need to log in. Member physicians should contact Kyle Lewis for assistance in logging in at (858) 300-2784 or at KLewis@SDCMS.org, and member office managers should contact Lauren Wendler at (858) 300-2782 or at LWendler@SDCMS.org. And if you don't see the question or answer you're looking for, go ahead and submit your question online as well at the bottom of the www.SDCMS.org/faq page!