When Scott Agnew’s psychiatrist of five years left the province this summer, he was left without a referral to a new one.
He wants access to his medical records so that he can transfer them once he gets a new psychiatrist.
“I got an email from a private company stating that they had access to my medical records,” Agnew said.
“If I wanted to get a copy of them which they highly recommended, I would have to go through them.”
He said they gave him 15 days to make a decision and he had to pay roughly $100 to obtain the records, which consisted of scans of his doctors handwritten notes.
Agnew, who works in the IT industry, said he had technical difficulties accessing the files once he paid the fee.
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“I had to go through tech support twice with this company to actually get access. When they finally gave me access to it the site didn’t work, I couldn’t download it, the file wasn’t formatted right. I had a nightmare with it.”
He said he’s concerned those without his computer expertise might have an even harder time.
While Agnew was able to pay the fee, he’s concerned for others who may not have the means, and questions why it isn’t covered by Medicare.
A representative for New Brunswick’s Department of Health told Global News in a written statement that Medicare is mandated to pay for “medically necessary insured services” for eligible residents.
“The cost that may be associated to retrieve someone’s medical records is not a service covered by Medicare and there have been no discussions to have it covered,” the statement read.
The contracts between third party companies that handle medical records are handled by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New Brunswick.
“Physicians may also use the services of an acceptable document storage agency,” a statement on their website read.
According to the Personal Health Information Protection and Access Act, there is a maximum charge for 25 cents per page “unless the actual cost is higher, with no additional fees for retrieval except in exceptional circumstances”.
This means the price is larger depending on the size of the file.
“I absolutely think this is something the government should cover,” Agnew said.
He was also calling for a widespread digitization of medical records.
“I don’t understand why we’re so far behind and why we’re even in this situation.”
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