Delay in Providing Medical Records to Resident's Legal Representative
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to provide timely access to a resident's medical records to the resident's established legal representative, as required. A request for medical records was made by the resident's Power of Attorney (POA), with all necessary authorization paperwork already on file and accepted by the facility. Despite this, the process for releasing records involved additional review by the legal department, which was not explained as necessary given the existing POA documentation. The business office manager could not provide a clear turnaround time for record requests and acknowledged that the process could cause delays. Documentation showed that the request for records was made on 6/11/24, but the records were not provided to the POA until sometime in July 2024, resulting in a delay of at least 19 days and possibly up to 40 days. The facility's own policy stated that records should be available within 2 days after receipt of payment, but in this case, there was no financial liability attached to the request. Both staff and the complainant confirmed the significant delay, and no further documentation was provided to clarify the exact date the records were delivered.