Delayed Provision of Medical Records to Residents and Representatives
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to provide timely access to medical records for residents or their legal representatives, as required by its own policy. The policy specified that access to view documents must be provided within 24 hours of a request, and copies must be provided within two working days. For three sampled residents, multiple requests for medical records were either delayed or not fulfilled within the required timeframe. In one case, a legal representative made several requests for records, but the facility had not received or processed these requests for specific dates. In another instance, a family member submitted both in-person and certified requests for records, but did not receive the requested information. For a third resident, multiple requests were made over several months, and the records were not provided until several months after the initial requests. Interviews with facility staff revealed that changes in the process for handling medical record requests, such as forwarding requests to a paralegal, may have contributed to the delays. Staff confirmed receipt of some records but acknowledged that requests for certain dates had not been fulfilled. Documentation and correspondence reviewed during the survey supported the findings that the facility did not meet its policy requirements for timely provision of medical records to residents or their legal representatives.