Although we offer the flexibility to request your clients’ medical records using our authorizations or your own, we highly recommend opting to use Medchart authorizations for your requests. Using our authorizations is easy! We just need your client’s signature and initials on a few forms to provide you with a seamless request process. You can choose to either collect your client’s signature electronically via email or text message, or you can simply crop their signature from your own forms.
If you're interested in learning how to add your clients' signatures and initials to Medchart, please review the articles below:
How to Upload/Import Client Signatures
How to Collect Client Signatures via Email
How to Collect Client Signatures via Text Message
If none of these options work for your firm, you can certainly move forward with using your own HIPAA authorization to request your clients' records. However, you must provide a full executed copy of your firm's authorization every time you submit a request. When we say executed, what we mean is that the authorization must include the following: 1) the provider’s information (name, address, and contact info), 2) the records required for release, 3) the date range, 4) a note stating the records are to be released to Medchart (our mailing address, fax, and email will need to be included in this note), 5) the client’s information (name, date of birth, address, and ID number), 6) the client's signature/initials, and 7) the date the authorization was signed.
To make things simpler for you, we strongly recommend collecting your client’s signature and initials through Medchart so that our consent engine can select the right authorization for your request and auto-fill the relevant fields for you. This eliminates time spent on your end filling out forms and ensures the right information is captured and communicated to the provider each time a request is submitted.
Beyond the convenience aspect of using Medchart authorizations, there is also the matter of cost and delivery accuracy to contend with. We have found that some providers will charge higher fees for records when a law firm's authorization is used for a request and will state that is their standard fee for a legal request. When providers receive authorizations featuring the law firm's information, they will sometimes send the invoice and/or records directly to the law firm's office rather than to Medhart, which removes the benefit of being able to manage and receive this information electronically on top of possibly needing to pay more money for your request.
If you have questions about Medchart's authorizations, please contact your Sales Representative, your Customer Experience Manager, or our support team at support@medchart.com.