Four providers, two data exchanges sued over high cost of medical record access in Maine
Do you own the right to your medical records? A class-action of plaintiffs in Maine says no—but you should be under Maine law, personal injury attorney Rachel Okun told News Center Maine.
Okun runs into a common problem at her practice: A request for medical records on a client often results in multiple providers and hospitals each sending documents, along with separate fees—which in total frequently exceed the legal limit of $150 for digital records.
Sometimes, Okun says, she is charged over $300 for paper copies. Maine law allows provider groups and hospitals to charge only reasonable costs, specifically $5, plus 45 cents per page to cover the costs of printing.
The attorney is not part of the class-action lawsuit filed against four Maine health care providers and two data management companies over alleged difficulties in accessing medical records. However, after dealing with the issue regularly with her clients, she called retrieval a “full-time job in and of itself—something she hired a dedicated employee to handle.
The plaintiff in the court filing, April Moon, was given class-action status for her lawsuit, though no other plaintiffs are currently listed, according to screenshots shown by News Center Maine.
The case involves Northern Light Health, Spectrum Healthcare Partners, St. Joseph Hospital, Penobscot Community Health Center—and healthcare data companies Sharecare and Ciox Health, which manage the records. All are listed as defendants.
Okun praised the plaintiff for bringing the case, saying she herself has not had time to step up. “But something in Maine needs to change,” she said. “With costs this high and multiple companies sending documents for a single request, it’s clear patients don’t have easy access to their own protected health information and thus don’t control their health data.”
News Center Maine did not provide many details on the status of the litigation or the identity of the plaintiff, focusing instead on the broader issue of medical record sharing.
The full report from the outlet is available at the link below.
Chad is an award-winning writer and editor with over 15 years of experience working in media. He has a decade-long professional background in healthcare, working as a writer and in public relations.