Below is the Rhode Island state statute which controls the amount of money that doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers can charge for copies of medical records provided to the patient or the patient’s attorney for use in personal injury or wrongful death civil cases. Note that there may be other statutes which pertain to workers’ compensation claims, Social Security disability matters, etc.
We update this page when we learn of a new statute or any revision to the statutes. Despite our best efforts we cannot and do not represent that this statute is up-to-date. One type of revision which is especially hard for us to keep track of has to do with cost changes allowed annually by a statute and based on some indexed inflation rate.
We suggest that you read the actual state statute (as opposed to relying upon our brief summary) when there is a link available.
Rhode Island
RI Gen L § 23-1-48. – Reimbursement for medical record copies.
Medical Records in Electronic Format
“…the charges for responding to requests for copies of medical records in electronic format shall not exceed a fee for clerical services, research, and handling of twenty-five dollars ($25.00), inclusive of shipping costs and the costs of data retrieval and/or the data storage device used to transport the medical records. Provided, however, that fifty cents ($.50) per page for the first one hundred (100) pages and twenty-five cents ($.25) per page for all pages thereafter may be charged. In no event shall the charge for pages exceed one hundred dollars ($100).”
Medical Records Not in Electronic Format
“…the charges for responding to requests for copies of medical records shall not exceed a fee for clerical services, research, and handling of twenty-five dollars ($25.00), inclusive of retrieval costs, plus actual shipping costs; provided, however, that fifty cents ($.50) per page for the first one hundred (100) pages and twenty-five cents ($.25) per page for all pages thereafter may be charged. In addition, the requestor shall pay for the actual shipping costs incurred.”
X-rays and Other Films
“Copies of X-rays or films not reproducible by photocopy shall be provided at the healthcare provider’s actual cost for materials and supplies. In addition, the requestor shall pay reasonable fees for clerical services, research, and handling, not to exceed twenty-five dollars ($25.00), plus actual shipping costs incurred.”
If you are aware of an additional or different medical records copying costs statute which should be posted for this state, please send a link to the relevant statute to Tom Lamb.
Likewise, any clarifications, corrections, or updates regarding the statute shown for this state should be submitted to Tom Lamb.
Please understand that the materials on this web page are for general information purposes only, and is not intended as legal advice.
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