The recent enactment by Congress of the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009 combined with a growing number of Federal and State statutes regarding privacy and security of your personal health records has necessitated City of Hope to implement strict guidelines when releasing copies of your medical records.

Please carefully review the following information and instructions to expedite your medical records request:

• An Instruction Sheet for you, the patient, describing the process of obtaining copies of your own medical record — generally for personal use, such as building your personal health record
• An Access to Protected Health Information Request Form for you, or your personal representative, to complete in order to physically obtain copies of your own records for the purpose above.
• An Authorization to Use and Disclose Protected Health Information Form for you to authorize City of Hope to release records to someone other than yourself or your personal representative — usually another facility or provider for the continuity of your care, or for insurance information, for State disability forms, etc. — OR for City of Hope to obtain copies of your records from another provider for the same reasons.

To learn more about the importance of maintaining a personal health record, please visit www.myphr.com.

You may mail your request packet to the City of Hope Medical Record Correspondence Desk at the address noted below:

City of Hope National Medical Center
Attn: Health Information Management Services
Medical Record Correspondence Desk
1500 East Duarte Road
Duarte, CA 91010

Or, you may drop off your request packet in person at the Medical Record Correspondence Desk, conveniently located at the Outpatient Registration Circle. Our staff can assist you in completing the forms and answer any questions you may have about the required information on the Access or Authorization Form.

Should you have questions about the status of your request after submission, please call our Health Information Management office at 626-256-4673 ext. 62446. Please allow five working days to pass before requesting status.

Department hours are Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.