Is my current dentist obligated by law to release my dental history includjng all xrays etc?

Question

Are they also obligated to give them directly to me or can they only have them forwarded to another dentist? THank you.

Answer 1

by law i honestly don't think so. i am a dental assist. going on 5 yrs and i know my boss doesnt have to release such things like x rays although health records i believe yes.... due to heath reasons. and for a fact i know that he can either send them to you or to you new dentist or oral surgeon.... whom ever u are having them sent to. usually there is a fee though. you should call ur office and they can help you out. oh one more thing, some offices have policies on how they go about transfering things like that. every office IS differernt.
good luck !

Answer 2

The above answers are mostly complete: the records belong to the dentist, but they are obliged under law to give duplicates to the patient, or someone appointed by the patient to receive them.

One small addition...HIPAA is limited to "covered entities", at least for now. A "covered entity" is any office transmitting information electronically. If the office doesn't file electronic claims, doesn't use e-mail, and otherwise doesn't send ANY protected information over the internet, they may be exempt from HIPAA laws. Not many fall into this catagory.

Answer 3

Go here for virtually the same question and several answers.

As far as being "obligated" to give them to you as opposed to forwarding them to another dentist, I don't think it matters, legally. Personally, I am just as happy to give them to the patient, because this would eliminate any fears that the records might fall into the wrong hands after leaving my office. Where they end up would be 100% the responsibility of the patient who picked them up.

Answer 4

Yes. You must give them a written request to release you records. If they are kept on site they have 15 days to realease them, if kept off site 30 days. The records can be released to you or forwarded to another dentist. The dentist is allowed to charge for the records. Check to see how much he was already paid for them by your insurance.

Answer 5

In my experience, a dentist will usually not release any originals, be it x-rays or documentation, to a patient or to another dentist. By law, at least in my state, that dentist has to keep those records in his office for 7 years.

I know that many would not agree with this, but if you got the opinion of most dentists, the x-rays belong to the dentist who took them. You can however request a copy of the x-rays and any documentation on you, but the dentist can charge you for this. We only charge $10.00 in my office, but I have seen dentists charge as much as $25.00 for this. When you really look at it from their point, it is only fair that you pay for the cost of the duplication, since the dentist is usually required by law to keep those originals in their office, and their is obviously a cost for an employee to duplicate the films, the cost of the duplication film, and the chemicals to develop it, so I don't feel that asking a patient to pay for this is unreasonable.

Alot of times, we will forward them to another dentist at no charge, but the other office has to request them from us.

I used to work in an office that offered, a complete exam and set of x-rays for $25.00, so we would have patients come in and get a set of x-rays for $25.00 and then want to take them to another dentist, since they would have paid alot more for the x-rays at that office. For this reason, we charged an additional $25.00 for the duplication.

Answer 6

You would probably be charged for them. If so ask to send to dentist of your choice. But I do not think they are obligated to give, would probably make copies.

Answer 7

Due to Hippa laws your dentist will need your signed consent to release your information, Hippa is-
Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act of 1996, to find out more please see the web-site below