Once you have made an appointment at Brigham and Women's Hospital, you may be asked to share your medical records with your new doctor. By having your medical records, he or she can take that information into consideration when evaluating and treating you. Shared information among healthcare providers helps to assure coordinated care.
The federal law known as HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) applies regardless of where you live and whether you are requesting medical records from an insurance company, a hospital or a doctor's office.
HIPAA gives you the right to access your medical records and receive copies of them. Your health care provider may be moving from paper records to electronic health records (EHRs) or using EHRs already. No matter what form your medical record is in, privacy protections to your health information still apply. Read Mass General Brigham Notice for use and sharing of protected health information.
Requesting medical records
The process for requesting your medical records usually includes these steps:
- Fill out an authorization form allowing your medical provider to share records with your BWH doctor.
- Let your provider know if the request is urgent.
- Specify which types of records you want included. Your care coordinator at BWH can advise you. This way you will not be charged for records that are not needed.
- Pay required fee.
Under HIPAA, medical providers have 30 days to fulfill a records request. Hopefully, your medical records will arrive at BWH sooner, especially if your provider is using an electronic health records system.
Once you have the records in hand, make copies and store them safely.
Mass General Brigham eCare
Brigham and Women’s Hospital is part of Mass General Brigham eCare, a secure electronic health records systems for all institutions within the Mass General Brigham network.
Health records on iPhone
Brigham patients and patients at all Mass General Brigham entities have a new way to access and view their personal health information. The Apple Health app on iPhone® allows users to combine current health records from multiple care providers all in one place. Brigham and Women's is proud to be one of the first organizations to enable this capability for its patients. As we look to broaden and deepen the digital tools for our patients, we are collaborating with industry to develop and/or offer new products and services that lead to better health and healthcare. For more information, please go here.
Patient Gateway
Patient Gateway is a secure online tool for BWH patients to manage their health. Patients can sign up for Patient Gateway to view their medical records, schedule appointments, and communicate with their doctors online.
Existing Patients Medical Record Information:
