6 Colo. Code Regs. 1011-1:II-5.2

Health care entity records

All patient records held by a health care entity must be made available to the patient upon a at a reasonable time and with reasonable notice through the facility’s attending physician or other facility representative.  The request for inspection must be signed and dated and the attending physician must acknowledge the request in writing.  Once the patient has inspected the record, he or she must confirm this by signing and dating an acknowledgment in writing.  The inspection should generally occur within 24 hours of the request and there must not be any charge to the patient.  If the attending physician feels that any portion of the record relating to psychological psychiatric problems or doctor’s notes would have a negative effect on the patient, he or she must note this in the acknowledgment, respond to the request within 24 hours, informing the patient of this, and allow the patient to inspect the remaining portion of the record.  This portion must be withheld until treatment is concluded and an independent evaluator determines that access to this portion would negatively impact the patient.  If a portion of the record is withheld from the patient, a summary may be provided to the patient after treatment has concluded.  A statement outlining the procedures above as well as grievance procedures must be posted conspicuously in the facility. 

A discharged patient may inspect or obtain a copy of his or her medical record after submitting a signed and dated request to the facility.  The facility must provide a copy or opportunity for inspection within a reasonable time, not to exceed 10 days (excluding weekends and holidays) unless the attending physician is unavailable to attend to the request, in which case the patient must be informed.  Discharged patients or their representatives must not be charged for inspection of the record.  The discharged patient or his or her personal representative is required to pay the reasonable copying costs not to exceed $14 for the first 10 pages, $.50 per page for pages 11-40, and $.33 per page thereafter.  The copying fee for microfilm is $1.50 per page.  Patients are also responsible for paying actual shipping costs and sales tax.  Other representatives of the discharged patient may be charged for the reasonable costs of copying the record in the amount of $16.50 for the first 10 pages, $.75 for pages 11-40, and $.50 per page thereafter.  No fees are charged for requests for medical records from other health care providers in order to continue a patient’s care.  If the patient approves, the attending physician may translate portions of the medical record that cannot easily be copied, such as x-rays.   

If the attending physician feels that any portion of the discharged patient’s record relating to psychological psychiatric problems or doctor’s notes would have a negative effect on the patient, he or she must note this in the acknowledgment, respond to the request to inspect or copy the record within 5 days, informing the patient of this, and allow the patient to inspect the remaining portion of the record.  This portion must be withheld until treatment is concluded and an independent evaluator determines that access to this portion would negatively impact the patient.  If a portion of the record is withheld from the patient, a summary may be provided to the patient after treatment has concluded. 

Any changes, modifications or deletions may to any part of the medical record must note the time and date of such change reason for the change, name of the person making the change, and name of the witness. 

Related Law:  C.R.S.A. § 25-1-801