SEATTLE, WA – Patient’s rights advocates are working to restrict huge fees some Washington patients must pay in order to access their complete medical records.
Holly Brauchli, managing partner at Sears Injury Law in Seattle, said navigating the medical system is complex and often requires support from lawyers or other advocates. But Brauchli noted once patients secure an advocate they can face huge fees for their records. One client was charged $28,000 by health data firm Datavant.
Brauchli pointed out the fees can prevent sick or injured patients from quickly accessing the records they need for legal claims and other urgent matters.
“To navigate things like whether a protective order should be issued to someone who has suffered from domestic violence, or whether a breast cancer battler should be able to get FMLA leave,” Brauchli outlined.
Legislation to limit fees was introduced in Olympia this session but did not pass. Advocates plan to reintroduce it next session. While federal law supports patients, Brauchli argued companies like Datavant exploit loopholes in state regulations to impose high fees.
Brauchli noted Datavant contended getting complete medical records can be complicated because they have to dig through microfiche. She countered it is a poor excuse, adding records starting in 2016 are all digital and people rarely need records before then. There are large providers in the state, like University of Washington, added Brauchli, who charge much less.
“When they issue tens of thousands of pages of patient bills, they charge something reasonable, like 20 bucks,” Brauchli stressed.
Providers like Datavant, Brauchli explained, charge patients about $1 per page of a PDF. She said a one-week hospital stay could easily create 15,000 pages of records.
