Below is the Virginia 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.
Virginia
VA Code § 32.1-127.1:03(J). Health records privacy.
If an individual or his agent / attorney requests a copy of his own medical records, the health care entity may impose a reasonable cost-based fee, which shall include the cost of supplies for and labor of copying the requested information, as well as postage where applicable.
NOTE: As to what may be regarded as “reasonable” in connection with the above statute, you might want to look at the following statute:
Va. Code Section 8.01-413
A reasonable charge may be made for the service of maintaining, retrieving, reviewing and preparing such copies. Except for copies of X-ray photographs, however, such charges shall not exceed the following amounts, respectively:
If produced in paper format:
- $20.00 search and handling fee
- $0.50 per page for up to 50 pages
- $0.25 a page thereafter
- $1.00 per page for copies from microfilm
- All postage and shipping costs
If produced in electronic format:
- $20.00 search and handling fee
- $0.37 per page for up to 50 pages
- $0.18 a page thereafter
- All postage and shipping costs
- Total amount charged cannot exceed $160
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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