Opinion Library

To return to this list after selecting an opinion, click on the "View entire list" link above the opinion title.

RSS feed

Advisory Opinion 97-042

October 9, 1997; Hennepin County

10/9/1997 10:14:43 AM

This is an opinion of the Commissioner of Administration issued pursuant to section 13.072 of Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13 - the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act. It is based on the facts and information available to the Commissioner as described below.

Facts and Procedural History:

For purposes of simplification, the information presented by the person who requested this opinion and the response from the government entity with which the person disagrees are presented in summary form. Copies of the complete submissions are on file at the offices of PIPA and, with the exception of any data classified as not public, are available for public access.

On August 4, 1997, PIPA received a letter dated August 4, 1997, from Simcha Plisner, on behalf of his client. In his letter, Mr. Plisner requested that the Commissioner issue an opinion regarding the cost assessed by Hennepin County Medical Center, hereinafter HCMC, for copies of government data.

PIPA, on behalf of the Commissioner, wrote to John Bluford, Administrator of the Hennepin County Medical Center. The purposes of this letter, dated August 11, 1997, were to inform him of Mr. Plisner's request and to ask him to provide information or support for the County's position. On August 22, 1997, PIPA received a response, dated August 20, 1997, from Ann Russell, Assistant Hennepin County Attorney.

A summary of the facts as presented by Mr. Plisner is as follows. HCMC maintains data about Mr. Plisner's client. Mr. Plisner requested copies of his client's medical records. He wrote:

[My client's data were] subsequently sent to me by a CopyMed a medical records management company. The data amounted to no more than four or five pages. I also received from copy med a statement of fees which included I [sic] some sort of recall or search charge for $10.00 for retrieval of the documents and I believe $.75 a page for photocopying.

According to an invoice from Copymed submitted by Mr. Plisner the total charge was $19.08.

Issue:

In his request for an opinion, Mr. Plisner asked the Commissioner to address the following issue:

Did Hennepin County Medical Center comply with the requirements of Minnesota Statutes Section 13.04, subdivision 3, in charging a data subject's representative $19.08 for copies of the data subject's medical data?

Discussion:

Data collected because an individual is or was a patient/client of a hospital operated by a government entity are classified pursuant to Minnesota Statutes Section 13.42. Per subdivision 3 of Section 13.42, medical data are available to the subject of the data as provided in section 144.335. Subdivision 5 of Section 144.335 provides specific guidelines for providers to follow upon assessing fees for copies of medical records. In relevant part, subdivision 5 states:

When a patient requests a copy of the patient's record for purposes of reviewing current medical care, the provider must not charge a fee. When a provider or its representative makes copies of patient records upon a patient's request under this section, the provider or its representative may charge the patient or the patient's representative no more than 75 cents per page, plus $10 for time spent retrieving and copying the record, unless other law or a rule or contract provide for a lower maximum charge. This limitation does not apply to X-rays....

The respective maximum charges of 75 cents per page and $10 for time provided in this subdivision are in effect for calendar year 1992 and may be adjusted annually each calendar year as provided in this subdivision. The permissible maximum charges shall change each year by an amount that reflects the change, as compared to the previous year, in the consumer price index for all consumers, Minneapolis-St. Paul (CPI-U, published by the department of labor. [Emphasis added.]

In her response, Ms. Russell wrote:

[t]his maximum fee [as stated in Section 144.335, subdivision 5] has increased with the cost of living, and currently hospitals are permitted to charge a retrieval fee of $11.29 and a per page fee of $.85. Hennepin County Medical Center moved to this fee level in March, 1997....The fact that Hennepin County Medical Center contracts with a firm that specializes in fulfilling medical record requests is irrelevant because the fees are still appropriate.

Because it appeared that the charge assessed to Mr. Plisner included the annual adjustments allowable under Section 144.335, PIPA staff briefly researched the issue by contacting the Minnesota Department of Economic Security Research and Statistics Office, the local source for the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers (CPI-U) for the Twin Cities Metropolitan statistical area. According to its calculations, based on the CPI-U released in March, 1997, the allowable fees are currently approximately $11.25 per retrieval and $.84 per page.

In an attempt to determine how Hennepin County arrived at a different calculation ($11.29 per retrieval and $.85 per page), PIPA staff contacted Ms. Russell by telephone. She pointed out that even though the statute allows for yearly adjustments, Mr. Plisner was charged the fee that was in effect for calendar year 1992 ($10 for retrieval and $.75 per page).

However, while it appears the retrieval and per page fees are allowable under Section 144.335, it is unclear how Hennepin County arrived at a total charge of $19.08. If the retrieval fee is subtracted from $19.08, the remainder is $9.08. That remainder divided by the per page fee of $.75 means that Mr. Plisner should have received approximately 12.2 pages (or at least 13 pages). Based on the information provided, it is not clear how many pages were provided to Mr. Plisner. In his opinion request, he stated, The data to the best of my recollection amounted to no more than four or five pages. Ms. Russell did not make any statement regarding the number of pages.

Opinion:

Based on the facts and information provided, my opinion on the issue raised by Mr. Plisner is as follows:

Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes Sections 13.04, 13.42, and 144.335, Hennepin County is allowed to charge, at least, a fee of $10 per retrieval and $.75 per page for a copy of a patient's medical records. However, the Commissioner is unable to determine whether Hennepin County properly charged Mr. Plisner without knowing how many pages were provided.

Signed:

Elaine S. Hansen
Commissioner

Dated: October 9, 1997

Copy costs

Medical data (144.335 / 144.291-144.298)

Patient records (144.335, subd. 3a / 144.293)