Charging for Medical Record Copies • Reporting Tuberculosis • Buying the "CPLH"

QUESTION: I have a patient whom I saw for one visit. We made plans for further care, but they decided not to go through with the procedure. Now an attorney is requesting a copy of the patient’s medical records. Can I charge this attorney, or do I have to provide these records for free?

ANSWER: According to CMA ON-CALL document #1127 (“Attorney Pre-litigation Request for Medical Information”), “All reasonable costs incurred by the physician may be charged to the person whose written authorization required the availability of the records.” This includes:

• Copying Costs: $0.10 per page for standard reproduction of documents of a size of 8½”<make this the straight quote> x 14” <make this the straight quote> or less, or $0.20 per page for records copied from microfilm, or actual costs for reproduction of oversize documents or those that require special processing, and …
• Clerical Costs: Reasonable clerical costs incurred in locating and making the records available (clerical costs incurred in making the copies are included in the copying costs set forth above), billed at the maximum rate of $4 per ¼ hour, $16 per hour, and …
• Postage Costs: Actual postage costs, and …
• Retrieval Costs: Actual costs, if any, charged to you by a third person for retrieval and return of records held by that third person, and …
• Copying Service: If the records are to be produced at your place of business for either the attorney or the attorney’s representative to photocopy or inspect, you may collect a fee of no more than $15 plus actual costs, if any, charged to you by a third person for retrieval and return of records held by that third person. The costs of the copy service are paid by the party seeking the records.

QUESTION: I have a patient whom I’ve diagnosed with tuberculosis. What are my reporting obligations?

ANSWER: In accordance with California regulations, all patients with suspected or confirmed active TB disease must be reported to San Diego County TB Control within 24 hours of initial suspicion. This can be done via The Tuberculosis Suspect Case Report form, which can be found on the County of San Diego’s Health and Human Services Agency’s website at www.sdcounty.ca.gov under “All Services A–Z”. Reporting forms may be faxed to (619) 692-5516 or the information can be called into (619) 692-8610.

QUESTION: Our office would like to purchase the print version of the 2009 California Physician’s Legal Handbook (CPLH). Where can we purchase this, and how much is it?

ANSWER: The California Physician’s Legal Handbook (CPLH) can be purchased via CMA’s website at www.cmanet.org. Members can purchase the print version of the CPLH for $798.