It's your data

"God heals and the doctor takes the fee" - Benjamin Franklin

CNN has a must-read story "Patients demand: 'Give us our damned data'". It describes how individuals suffer while hospitals dither or refuse to transfer patient data to another hospital.

CNN recommends these tips.

1. Know your rights
   The federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, gives hospitals and doctors 30 days to respond to a request for medical records, although some state laws provide for a shorter time frame. In urgent situations, such as a transfer to another hospital, it's customary for hospitals to move more quickly.
2. Be prepared to make your request in writing.
3. Confirm that the hospital receives your request.
4. If you have a choice, select a medical provider who uses electronic medical records. These can be emailed to you or accessed via a secure web site.
5. Get the new hospital or doctor to help you by having them make the request.
6. Remember the limits of the law
   Your doctor doesn't have to give you access to to information he or she thinks might cause you or someone else substantial harm. Some states allow even more information to be kept from a patient. For example, the New York Department of Health Web site says doctors may deny you access to "personal notes and observations" they've made in your record.
7. Get angry - be firm, don't accept no.
   You may need to bring in an attorney.
8. File a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Bottom Line

It's your data. You paid for it.