Complaint Review: HealthPort - Atlanta Georgia

 I requested copies of my medical records from one visit to the doctor each for myself and my husband. The doctor's staff at Medical Group of the Carolinas then handed me a form to fill out so that I could have access to the records. I filled it out, thinking I had read everything correctly.

A couple of weeks later I recieved the requested information along with a bill from HealthPort that I was not expecting. No one at my doctor's office mentioned a fee. While I don't mind paying fees for my medical records, I do expect to be notified that there will be a charge and what that charge will be.

When I called HealthPort about my bill and notified them that I had not been informed that there would be a charge, let alone what the charge would be, they told me that it was not their responsibility to do that. They told me that my doctor's office should have notified me that there would be a fee.

I then asked how, in the future, I could know what the charge would be up front when requesting my medical records and a HealthPort employee told me to ask my doctor, after stating, " We don't know what we will bill until the invoice is generated." When I asked how I could possibly be notified in advance what I would be billed if that is not determined until the invoice goes out, the employee (#2245) went silent.

Despite repeated attempts at asking for her help, the employee remained silent. She then said that she would not discuss the matter with me any further.  I asked for a manager, and she simply stated that one was not available. I asked for a supervisor, and she put me on hold. When she came back on the line she told me that a supervisor would call me back. I asked for his direct line and she would not provide me with it. I asked for the complaint department or for some way to write in about my problem and she refused both requests. I asked for an address for the company and she would not give me one.

I then proceeded to ask if she could explain how the billed amount was generated and if there was a set rate. She said that she would not discuss billing with me. I asked if I called the right department and if she was in billing.....silence.

I don't understand how a company can bill you for something after the fact, and then claim that it is some other company's responsibility to disclose the fees. When I was told to call my doctor's office to ask about the fees, I said, " Well it's not my doctor's office charging the fees is it? It's HealthPort's fee right?

My bill was not as high as what other people here have reported, however, given the amount of information I actually received it seems to be too much. For my file, I was billed $13.32. I receieved 20 pages. Out of those 20 pages 3 were not medical records at all, but Healthport paperwork and invoice. 2 or 3 pages were duplicates where it looked like a record didn't print out completely the first time so was just printed out again. 2 pages contained only an electronic signature from my doctor ( no other information at all...practically a blank page. And a couple more pages were nothing but line after line of producer IDs (all the same lab). If you do that math, it is as if I paid more than a $1.00 per page when accounting for all the paperwork I didn't need to receive.

After reviewing the authorization to release that I signed, I did find something in the fine print. It reads, "Fees will be charged in accordance with SC Code and Federal Rule....." This fine print was stuck inside a box titled:" Purpose of release," a section of the agreement where I was to indicate why the record was needed. Seems like a strange place for that kind of disclosure huh???

While I really liked my doctor, I HATE the fact that he utilizes HealthPort for the handeling of my medical records. Be careful of outsourcing in your doctor's office. You won't know where your medical information is going and you will be bounced back and forth between your doctor and other companies until you're about ready to scream!