Sec. 241.154. REQUEST. (a) On receipt of a written authorization from a patient or legally authorized representative to examine or copy all or part of the patient's recorded health care information, except payment information, or for disclosures under Section 241.153 not requiring written authorization, a hospital or its agent, as promptly as required under the circumstances but not later than the 15th day after the date the request and payment authorized under Subsection (b) are received, shall:

(1) make the information available for examination during regular business hours and provide a copy to the requestor, if requested; or

(2) inform the authorized requestor if the information does not exist or cannot be found.

(b) Except as provided by Subsection (d), the hospital or its agent may charge a reasonable fee for providing the health care information except payment information and is not required to permit the examination, copying, or release of the information requested until the fee is paid unless there is a medical emergency. The fee may not exceed the sum of:

(1) a basic retrieval or processing fee, which must include the fee for providing the first 10 pages of the copies and which may not exceed $30; and

(A) a charge for each page of:

(i) $1 for the 11th through the 60th page of the provided copies;

(ii) 50 cents for the 61st through the 400th page of the provided copies; and

(iii) 25 cents for any remaining pages of the provided copies; and

(B) the actual cost of mailing, shipping, or otherwise delivering the provided copies;

(2) if the requested records are stored on microform, a retrieval or processing fee, which must include the fee for providing the first 10 pages of the copies and which may not exceed $45; and

(A) $1 per page thereafter; and

(B) the actual cost of mailing, shipping, or otherwise delivering the provided copies; or

(3) if the requested records are provided on a digital or other electronic medium and the requesting party requests delivery in a digital or electronic medium, including electronic mail:

(A) a retrieval or processing fee, which may not exceed $75; and

(B) the actual cost of mailing, shipping, or otherwise delivering the provided copies.

(c) In addition, the hospital or its agent may charge a reasonable fee for:

(1) execution of an affidavit or certification of a document, not to exceed the charge authorized by Section 22.004, Civil Practice and Remedies Code; and

(2) written responses to a written set of questions, not to exceed $10 for a set.

(d) A hospital may not charge a fee for:

(1) providing health care information under Subsection (b) to the extent the fee is prohibited under Subchapter M, Chapter 161;

(2) a patient to examine the patient's own health care information;

(3) providing an itemized statement of billed services to a patient or third-party payor, except as provided under Section 311.002(f); or

(4) health care information relating to treatment or hospitalization for which workers' compensation benefits are being sought, except to the extent permitted under Chapter 408, Labor Code.

(e) Effective September 1, 1996, and annually thereafter, the fee for providing health care information as specified in this section shall be adjusted accordingly based on the most recent changes to the consumer price index as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor that measures the average changes in prices of goods and services purchased by urban wage earners and clerical workers' families and single workers living alone.

(f) A request from a patient or legally authorized representative for payment information is subject to Section 311.002.

Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 856, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 498, Sec. 4, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 610, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.

Amended by:

Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 1003 (H.B. 4029), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2009.