brieflynoted
Your Office Manager Advocate Has the Answers! By Lauren Wendler
Q
We have received a request from an attorney’s office to release a patient’s medical records free of charge because there is a pending Social Security disability claim. It also states that if the appeal is successful, the provider may bill the patient for the records at up to $0.25 per page, plus reasonable clerical costs. How would we know if the appeal was successful and when to bill
the patient? Since all of these records are public, you can track when an appeal is successful online if you know in what court the case is being heard (e.g., 1st District Court of Appeal) and the case number or parties in the case. With this information, you can check the online docket system (www. courtinfo.ca.gov/courts/courtsofappeal) and
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›› Billing Patients for Medical Records ›› Renewing Your DEA License ›› And a Follow-up Question From the August Issue 12
S AN D I E G O P HY S I CI A N . org N ov e mb e r 2009
retrieve the status of the case. For further information, consult CMA’s ON-CALL document #1150, “Patient Access to Medical Records” — available free to SDCMS-CMA members at CMANet.org.
Q A
I do not know if my DEA license has expired. How often do I need to renew my license, and how long does it take? Your DEA license must be renewed every three years. Renewal applications are mailed out 45 days prior to the expiration date to the last address listed with the DEA; however, the United States Postal Service will not forward applications to a new address. Contact the San Diego DEA field office at (858) 616-4100 if you need to change your address. Renewal applications are processed within approximately four weeks.
Q
In the August issue of San Diego Physician, the article “Medical Records: Frequently Asked Questions” included the question: “Can I thin and purge medical records prior to storage?” The answer was yes,