Failure to Provide Timely Access to Resident Medical Records
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to provide timely access to medical records for a resident's family member, despite having proper authorization. The resident, who had diagnoses including heart failure, deafness, and parkinsonism, authorized his family member to access his medical records on two separate occasions. The family member initially requested copies of the records but declined to pay the associated fees. When the family member then requested to review the records in person without obtaining copies, the facility informed him that he would still be required to pay a fee to review the records. As a result, the family member was not able to review the resident's medical records at the facility. Interviews and record reviews confirmed that the facility's policy allowed residents to request access to their records, but the policy did not specify the required timeframe for making records available. Despite the family member's written request to inspect the records in person, the facility maintained that a fee would be charged for both copies and in-person review, and did not provide access within 24 hours as required. This resulted in the resident and his family member being unaware of the details of his medical record, constituting a violation of the resident's right to access his medical records.