Can a psychiatrist refuse to provide you with your psychiatric records?

[WarrantSeeker]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Alabama

I have been trying to gather together my psychiatric records lately and have faced resistance. This is not medical malpractice related, but I need information from these records. I am applying for state licensure, and my psychiatric history is fair game. Some states require that you provide information from and authorization to release your psychiatric records to the relevant state agencies. I move around a lot. A clinic in one state has stated they will not send medical records to me through the mail, only to a doctor. A psychiatrist approved that my records could be sent to another doctor, but not to me directly. I am having trouble getting the records in a centralized location and may have trouble retrieving the records once I ask. Do I not have the right to my medical records (including psychiatric)? If I don't provide information from these records to the state agencies (who possibly may request the entire record to peruse), my omission will likely be held against me. I'm damned if I do, damned if I don't. How can I get my psychiatric records?

 

[Ladyback1]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Alabama

I have been trying to gather together my psychiatric records lately and have faced resistance. This is not medical malpractice related, but I need information from these records. I am applying for state licensure, and my psychiatric history is fair game. Some states require that you provide information from and authorization to release your psychiatric records to the relevant state agencies. I move around a lot. A clinic in one state has stated they will not send medical records to me through the mail, only to a doctor. A psychiatrist approved that my records could be sent to another doctor, but not to me directly. I am having trouble getting the records in a centralized location and may have trouble retrieving the records once I ask. Do I not have the right to my medical records (including psychiatric)? If I don't provide information from these records to the state agencies (who possibly may request the entire record to peruse), my omission will likely be held against me. I'm damned if I do, damned if I don't. How can I get my psychiatric records?

ask that the records be sent to your primary care physician. Then request all records from your primary care MD.
(and be prepared to pay the costs for your copies of the records)

 

[tranquility]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Alabama

I have been trying to gather together my psychiatric records lately and have faced resistance. This is not medical malpractice related, but I need information from these records. I am applying for state licensure, and my psychiatric history is fair game. Some states require that you provide information from and authorization to release your psychiatric records to the relevant state agencies. I move around a lot. A clinic in one state has stated they will not send medical records to me through the mail, only to a doctor. A psychiatrist approved that my records could be sent to another doctor, but not to me directly. I am having trouble getting the records in a centralized location and may have trouble retrieving the records once I ask. Do I not have the right to my medical records (including psychiatric)? If I don't provide information from these records to the state agencies (who possibly may request the entire record to peruse), my omission will likely be held against me. I'm damned if I do, damned if I don't. How can I get my psychiatric records?

I couldn't quickly find it for Alabama, but in California, one of the exceptions to disclosure of records to patients is mental health records to those the doctor believes that seeing them could cause harm to the patient or others. I don't know if Alabama has a similar restriction.

 

[ecmst12]

Psychiatric treatment records are one thing that they can actually refuse to provide to a patient if they believe it will be harmful to the patient. They would release it to another doctor's office. What type of information do you need from the records? If it's just diagnosis and length of treatment and that type of thing, you should be able to get it, but actual treatment notes, probably not.

 

[TheGeekess]

I couldn't quickly find it for Alabama, but in California, one of the exceptions to disclosure of records to patients is mental health records to those the doctor believes that seeing them could cause harm to the patient or others. I don't know if Alabama has a similar restriction.

I received a copy of my therapy/hospital chart, but my psychiatrist at the time knew that I could/would be clinical about it. He said something very similar to the CA law you quoted above.

ETA:

(7) The right to access upon request all information in the consumer's mental health, medical, and financial records, unless a clinical determination has been made by professional staff that access would be detrimental to the consumer's health.

http://alisondb.legislature.state.al.us/acas/CodeOfAlabama/1975/22-56-4.htm