2017 update on maximum charges for copies of medical records in Florida

March 13, 2017

Alert

Florida recognizes that a patient’s access to their medical records is important and necessary for continuity of care. To that end, Florida has issued regulations on the permitted costs for copies of medical records, x-rays, and insurance information.

Patients in Florida are not required to pay a fee for copies or searches of their records when the copy or search is done to assist in continued medical care.

Florida law also states that upon receiving a written request and after discharge of a patient, a licensed facility must provide (in a timely manner) to any patient (or patient guardian, curator or personal representative) true and correct copies of all the patient’s records, including x-rays and insurance information, that are in the facility’s possession.

For patients and government entities, the maximum fees shall not exceed the following:

$1 per page for the first 25 pages
$0.25 per page for each page in excess of 25 pages.

For all other entities, the fee is $1 per page.

Additionally, a licensed facility may charge actual costs (the cost of materials and supplies to duplicate the record and labor/overhead costs to do the duplication) for reproducing x-rays and other special kinds of records.

Under Florida’s worker’s compensation statutes and rules, injured employees may only be charged up to $0.50 per page or the actual direct cost to the provider or facility for the x-rays, micro-films, or other non-paper records.

The Florida Board of Medicine has more information available at http://flboardofmedicine.gov/patient-records-faqs.

If you have any questions, please contact the attorneys below.

Over the past 24 months, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights has brought notable enforcement efforts against several non-profit covered entities and business associates, resulting in instances of six and seven-figure penalties against providers across the county for incidents involving breaches of protected health information.

A new amendment to New York state law, which would have required all healthcare providers to obtain separate consents from patients for treatment and payment is on hold until further guidance is released, according to the New York Department of Health.

On November 1, 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule 2025 final rule, which establishes new advanced primary care management billing codes that will expand opportunities for physician practices, federally qualified health centers, rural health clinics and other health care providers to get paid for services provided by clinical staff under the direction of a physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant beginning January 1, 2025.

2017 update on maximum charges for copies of medical records in Florida

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