Medical center closings highlight patient needs to keep copy of medical records
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Medical center closings highlight patient needs...
The Virginia Board of Medicine has some 10 On Your Side information on how to prevent the frustration many of these patients are feeling.Former patients of two medical centers now closed are still waiting to get their medical records. The Sandy River Medical Center in Axton and the Martinsville Family Medical Center closed last week for “economic” reasons. Both were part of Central Piedmont Health Services.
On Monday, patients were trying to get their medical records at the Sandy River Medical Center, and nobody came to the door. Tuesday, 10 On Your Side went back to making phone calls. For the administrative offices at Central Piedmont Health Services, we got the recording, “We’re sorry, the number you’ve reached is not in service at this time.“
On Monday, somebody answered the door for 10 On Your Side at the Sandy River Medical Center, then shut it before answering any of our questions. On Tuesday, no cars were in the parking lot and nobody answered the door.
We talked to Jennifer Deschenes, the Deputy Executive Director for the Virginia Board of Medicine. She says to prevent this frustration, request your medical records often.
“It’s not a bad idea for patients to get in the habit of maybe every couple years requesting updated medical records from their physician. Just so they have it for their personal records in case the patient moves or the doctor moves,” said Deschenes.
You need to send a written request for records to your provider. Even though the centers in Martinsville are closed, it couldn’t hurt for those patients to send a request.
“Sometimes there will be people in the building doing, taking care of business, packing up assets, I’m not sure. But there’s someone, if you write to the address, those requests may be going to the record-keeping type service that will process those requests,” she said.
If you don’t have any luck there, you can file a complaint. Call the Virginia Department of Health Professions at 1-800-533-1560.
There is usually a fee involved for getting a copy of your medical records. Ten On Your Side did some checking and found that it can vary depending on which copying service the office uses. It’s usually around 50 cents per page up to 50 pages. Then it’s usually 20 cents per page after that.
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Unfortunately, this happens more often than you think. If you are one of the patients affected by this unfortunate event, please contact RochesterMeade Medical Reporting Services. RochesterMeade specializes in developing health care record portfolios for patients. In a situation such as the closing of a practice, you need an advocate who will work on your behalf to acquire your medical records in a timely and professional manner. Though you may be frustated and upset about the turn of events concerning your medical records, beating down the door to the closed facility and making numerous phone calls is not the way to handle the situation or result in you obtaining our records, RochesterMeade has trained and professional staff who will handle the leg work for you. Call us today at (804) 443-5999
Office Hours: Tuesday - Thursday from 8:00 am - 4:30pm
Address: P.O. Box 190, Tappahannock, VA 22560. Fax: (804) 443-5997
RochesterMeade Medical Reporting Services is a Health Information Resource Company.
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