Memorial Dentists
Houston,#2UPDATE Employee
Mon, February 15, 2010
In the state of Texas, it is law that a healthcare provider (dentist, physicial, etc...) must maintain custodianship of all records for a period of no less that seven years. These records are the property of the healthcare provider, not the patient. For example, a patient which has an xray taken and pays for that is not just paying for the film, they are paying for the service of the doctor reading that film as a diagnostic tool and the xray is the pocession of the doctor. Therefore, transferring records requires duplication of records. According to the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners this is a chargable service. There is expense incurred in making dulicate xrays, they cannot just be copied on a standard copier. It requires a special film and procedure, not to mention the time involved. It is standard practice in all states to charge for this service unless that healthcare provider as referred you to a specialist for care they cannot provide. As far as the insurance company is concerned, they have no say in the state laws, nor will they pay for duplication of records, nor is it a violation of contract agreements.
In addition to this complaint, every patient who walks through our doors sees a dentist. This is also law, we cannot treat any patient unless they have seen a doctor in our facility within the previous twelve months.
Here at Memorial Dentists we provide excellent quality of care, services and materials. We take pride in the fact that we see thousands of patients and only recieve a very small amount of complaints. Thank you to all of our patients, we respect you greatly.