How Do I Get My Medical Records

All hospitals, and most doctors' offices, have a release form that you can use to request your medical records. In most cases you can request the medical information directly from the doctor's office or medical records department at a hospital. For information about a cancer, you should send your request to the hospital's pathology department.

Keep in mind that offices may only keep records for a certain amount of time as required by that state. You should call the office to be sure your records still exist. In many cases you can simply send a letter that includes the relevant information rather than using a specific form. This letter will need to include:

• Your birth date.
• Your full name (including any information about name changes).
• Time frame when you were seen (for example July 1998 to September 2000).
• The specific types of information you want sent (such as reports from a brain scan, your cholesterol levels, etc.).

You can have your records sent to yourself to share with a healthcare professional, or directly to a health professional. If you do have the records sent to a health professional, let them know to expect the files.

How Do I Get Medical Information About My Relatives

You can only access medical records for other members of your family with their permission, or with the permission of the next-of-kin for a deceased family member. Each state handles next-of-kin slightly differently, so you should check the requirements in your state. However, the usual legal order for next-of-kin is:

• The spouse
• Children or parents
• Grandchildren
• Siblings
• Nieces or Nephews

If you are not the next-of-kin, you will need the signature from the legal next-of-kin along with the medical release form. You may also need to attach forms indicating your legal right to the medical records, for example, if you or the next-of-kin is the executor of the estate. Each medical facility has slightly different regulations about the paperwork required for obtaining a relative's medical records. It is best to contact the medical facility before submitting a request.

Often there is no charge to request medical records if the medical records are sent directly to a health professional. If you request that the medical records be sent to you, there may be a fee. The cost can be surprisingly expensive if there are lots of medical records because there are per page copying charges and sometimes additional charges for the time of the person making the copies.

In some cases, the information you need will be on the death certificate, which is easier to get than the medical records. If you are not the next of kin of the deceased, you should consider getting the death certificate first. If that does not provide the information you need, then try to obtain the medical records.

Obituaries

Obituaries are not only an interesting historical record, but they may contain information about the deceased such as age at death and cause of death. Obituaries may be found through archives of the local town newspaper.

Military records

The National Personnel Records Center stores medical treatment records of retirees from all services, as well as records for dependents and other people treated at Naval medical facilities. To obtain these records, you will need the social security number of the person who was in military service.

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