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OT Lawyers - my cardiologist is charging me $100 to obtain copies of my PET scan results

Posted on 10/20/25 at 8:04 am
Posted by HoustonGumbeauxGuy
Member since Jul 2011
32559 posts
Posted on 10/20/25 at 8:04 am
Is that legal? I had some other heart tests done also that would be "included" in the results they would give me.,

Can they really charge $100 for this? Seems shady AF.



FYI... this is Modern Heart and Vascular here in Houston.
Posted by Tenfold
Member since Mar 2023
329 posts
Posted on 10/20/25 at 8:06 am to
As a healthcare professional, yes it is legal to have a fee for this.
That’s not an outrageous amount.
IMHO
Posted by SuperSaint
Sorting Out OT BS Since '2007'
Member since Sep 2007
147697 posts
Posted on 10/20/25 at 8:07 am to
Will cost you $150 for legal advice on the matter
Posted by Moustache
GEAUX TIGERS
Member since May 2008
21633 posts
Posted on 10/20/25 at 8:07 am to
See, why does a patient have to pay for results after paying for the test? Greedy af.
Posted by tigeralum06
Member since Oct 2007
2885 posts
Posted on 10/20/25 at 8:08 am to
You new to America?
Posted by FearTheFish
Member since Dec 2007
4288 posts
Posted on 10/20/25 at 8:10 am to
So you want free legal advice to fight against the $100 charge your doctor is billing you?
Posted by ShrevetownTiger
Shreveport
Member since Jan 2007
2995 posts
Posted on 10/20/25 at 8:10 am to
I would think records belong to the patient and you should have access to them, assuming the Dr already has been paid. Does this Dr not have somewhere online you can obtain the results? If not, switch Drs.
Posted by Tenfold
Member since Mar 2023
329 posts
Posted on 10/20/25 at 8:11 am to
I don’t charge folks. Never have!
I didn’t say I agree with it, I just know it is customary to do such and there are practice acts in place the reinforce
Posted by MrSpock
Member since Sep 2015
5032 posts
Posted on 10/20/25 at 8:11 am to
quote:

See, why does a patient have to pay for results after paying for the test? Greedy af.


Well, the cardiology folks probably have to pay a person to put the studies on a disc, pay for the supplies (disc, printer, envelope etc), pay for IT personnel to manage their PACS to make sure to never lose the studies, pay for any infrastructure to house said images, pay for the software that will placed on the disc so people can actually look at said images.

But for reference, our radiology department doesn't charge anything
This post was edited on 10/20/25 at 8:53 am
Posted by lsuconnman
Baton rouge
Member since Feb 2007
4366 posts
Posted on 10/20/25 at 8:12 am to
Look up the HITECH act. They may qualify as electronic personal medical records, and would be capped at $5.
Posted by olemiss5931
Augusta, GA
Member since Apr 2012
2234 posts
Posted on 10/20/25 at 8:17 am to
Im a young doc so still learning business side of things, never heard of this. Always assumed in labs,imaging you get is yours to have. We print them out or send in portal for free
Posted by Topwater Trout
Red Stick
Member since Oct 2010
69341 posts
Posted on 10/20/25 at 8:17 am to
copies of the scan or results? they wouldn't be on my chart and I am guessing you want someone else to read the scan? maybe they can get it
Posted by fr33manator
Baton Rouge
Member since Oct 2010
132893 posts
Posted on 10/20/25 at 8:20 am to
quote:

Will cost you $150 for legal advice on the matter


I'll listen to and transcribe his advice so you can read it, but this that's A $75 scribing fee.
Posted by deathvalleytiger10
Member since Sep 2009
8795 posts
Posted on 10/20/25 at 8:22 am to
quote:

Is that legal?


Yes it is legal. Most states have rules put in place by the state board to regulate what fees can be charged for records.
Posted by lsupride87
Member since Dec 2007
107795 posts
Posted on 10/20/25 at 8:46 am to
Absolutely that is not legal

He can only charge a “reasonable fee” for delivering the results to you, assuming you jsut want access to the results and not his interpretation and consultation

A reasonable fee would be like $10

ETA: it appears Texas law is $6.50 for electronic access

LINK
This post was edited on 10/20/25 at 8:51 am
Posted by BruslyTiger
Waiting on 420...
Member since Oct 2003
4759 posts
Posted on 10/20/25 at 8:50 am to
I had the CRAPPY Neurology Center of BR charge me $100 to fill out the FMLA paperwork I needed for to help care for my father.

The medical industry is turning into the airline industry. Just figuring out ways to charge you for everything they can.
Posted by moe1967
South Louisiana
Member since Jul 2023
290 posts
Posted on 10/20/25 at 8:50 am to
I call bullshite on your cardiologist.

Go to the facility where you had test done with proper ID. Then go to medical records and demand the results. They will print a copy for you.

Now, if you are wanting a copy of the actual test (scan) then they may or may not charge you a fee. If they do it will be nowhere near $100.

Everything is electronic now. If you had test done at a facility your cardiologist is associated with then he/she has access to your test results, and actual test, at any time they want.

If you had test done at a facility that your cardiologist is not associated with then you'd go get the results yourself. Or you can call and ask the facility to fax the results.

Either way, your cardiologist is trying to con you out of $100
Posted by TigerGman
Center of the Universe
Member since Sep 2006
13331 posts
Posted on 10/20/25 at 8:51 am to
quote:

Absolutely that is not legal He can only charge a “reasonable fee” for delivering the results to you, assuming you jsut want access to the results and not his interpretation and consultation A reasonable fee would be like $10


Absolutely? You sure? What does Texas law say he can charge? Does it say only whatever is “reasonable”. And who decides what is reasonable. ?
Posted by lsupride87
Member since Dec 2007
107795 posts
Posted on 10/20/25 at 8:52 am to
quote:

Absolutely? You sure?
Yes. I posted the Texas law and linked it

quote:

When determining how much to charge for supplying copies of medical records, physicians are required to follow guidance from the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) and the HIPAA privacy rule. This guidance was put in place to ensure patients have easy access to their health care information.

?

Fees to release directly to the patient/individual

Flat rate of $6.50
The OCR set a flat-fee of $6.50 as a reasonable cost for the release of medical records directly to a patient/individual. If the provider does not calculate a reasonable fee as outlined below, then the provider should charge the flat-rate of $6.50 to the individual for copies of their protected health information (PHI). ??Charging an individual more than $6.50?For any request from an individual, a provider (or business associate operating on its behalf) may calculate the allowable fees as follows:

By calculating actual allowable costs to fulfill each request; or
By using a schedule of costs based on average allowable labor costs to fulfill standard requests.
Alternatively, in the case of requests for an electronic copy of PHI, covered entities may charge a flat fee not to exceed $6.50 (inclusive of all labor, supplies, and postage)



You are never going to be able to make an argument $150 is reasonable to send an email report to a patient Hence why $6.50 is used as their baseline

Direct from Texas
This post was edited on 10/20/25 at 8:57 am
Posted by wackatimesthree
Member since Oct 2019
10135 posts
Posted on 10/20/25 at 8:57 am to
quote:

Is that legal? I had some other heart tests done also that would be "included" in the results they would give me.,

Can they really charge $100 for this? Seems shady AF.



FYI... this is Modern Heart and Vascular here in Houston.


It is legal to charge for copies of records as long as the charge is considered reasonable and customary.

If they are giving you hard copies of the results that would be a reasonable and customary charge. If they are just giving you the digital images on a CD-ROM or flash drive, IMO it's excessive.

Providers have a right to charge for the time and expense that they incur preparing records, but the imaging software should just export the images with a couple of clicks. It shouldn't take a tech spending an hour and a half exporting those records, and the storage medium itself in this case shouldn't be that expensive. A few bucks.
This post was edited on 10/20/25 at 8:58 am
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