Costs of copying and mailing; patient's rights as to records, Ga. Code Ann., § 31-33-3

Costs of copying and mailing; patient's rights as to records

Unless the request is specifically related to providing required material for the completion of a disability application, the requester of any medical record information shall be responsible for all costs to the provider associated with copying and mailing, according to the following outline of fees:

• No more than $20.00 may be charged for medical record search, retrieval, and other administrative costs;
• No more than $7.50 may be charged per record for certifying the record
• Postage may be charged at actual costs
• Copying costs of $0.75 per page for the first 20 pages, $0.65 per page for pages 21-100, and $0.55 per page for pages 101 and beyond may be charged

In accordance with the medical component of the consumer price index, the Office of Planning and Budget may adjust these fees annually, to become effective on July 1 of each year.

Additionally, providers may recover in full and up front, any subsequent costs associated with aspects of reproducing the medical record that are not in paper format (e.g., radiology films).

The right of access to medical records granted here exists in addition to any other rights to medical records a patient or person may have; however, all records are still owned by and are property of provider.