Arizona Laws 12-2295. Charges
A. Except as otherwise provided by law, a health care provider or contractor may charge a person who requests reproductions of medical records or payment records a reasonable fee for the reproduction of the records pursuant to this section. Except as necessary for continuity of care, a health care provider or contractor may require the payment of any fees in advance.
Terms Used In Arizona Laws 12-2295
- Contractor: means an agency or service that duplicates medical records on behalf of health care providers. See Arizona Laws 12-2291
- Department: means the department of health services. See Arizona Laws 12-2291
- Health care decision maker: means an individual who is authorized to make health care treatment decisions for the patient, including a parent of a minor or an individual who is authorized pursuant to Section 8-514. See Arizona Laws 12-2291
- Health care provider: means :
(a) A person who is licensed pursuant to title 32 and who maintains medical records. See Arizona Laws 12-2291
- Medical records: means all communications related to a patient's physical or mental health or condition that are recorded in any form or medium and that are maintained for purposes of patient diagnosis or treatment, including medical records that are prepared by a health care provider or by other providers. See Arizona Laws 12-2291
- Payment records: means all communications related to payment for a patient's health care that contain individually identifiable information. See Arizona Laws 12-2291
- Person: includes a corporation, company, partnership, firm, association or society, as well as a natural person. See Arizona Laws 1-215
B. A health care provider or contractor shall not charge for the pertinent information contained in medical records provided to:
1. Another health care provider for the purpose of providing continuing care to the patient to whom the medical record pertains.
2. The patient to whom the medical record pertains for the demonstrated purpose of obtaining health care.
3. The health care decision maker of the patient to whom the medical record pertains for the demonstrated purpose of obtaining health care for the patient.
4. The Arizona medical board, the Arizona board of osteopathic examiners in medicine and surgery or an officer of the department of health services or the local health department requesting records pursuant to section 36-662.
5. The patient or the patient’s legal representative for the purpose of appealing a denial of benefits under the social security act. Any additional request for medical records and a request for medical records that were previously provided free of charge in the same calendar year are subject to a reasonable fee pursuant to subsection A of this section, except that a fee may not be charged if no medical records are located in response to the request. A legal representative must provide an appointment of representative form SSA-1696 before obtaining a patient’s medical records free of charge.