Release of Medical and Payment Records, A.R.S. § 12-2293

Release of Medical Records and Payment Records to Patients and Health Care Decision makers; Definitions

A health care provider who holds a patient’s medical record must provide the record or a copy to a patient or patient’s decision maker upon written request. 

A health care provider may deny a request for access to a medical record if the provider determines:

1. That access to the record may endanger the life or safety of the patient or another person;
2. That the medical record refers to a person other than the health care provider and a patient’s access to the record may cause substantial harm to the other person;
3. Access by the patient’s decision maker is reasonably likely to cause substantial harm to the patient or another person;
4. Access by the patient or decision maker would reveal information obtained under confidentiality with someone other than the provider and access could reveal the source of the information.

A health care provider can deny a request for access to a copy of the medical record if the provider determines that:

1.  The information was created during clinical research and the patient or patient’s decision maker agreed to the denial of access in the research consent documents;
2. A health care provider is a correctional institution or working on behalf of an institution and that access would jeopardize the health, safety, or well-being or patients, other inmates, employees or other individuals in the institution.

If a health care provider denies a request for access to medical records, the provider must note this determination in the patient’s record and provide the patient or the patient’s decision maker with a written explanation of the denial.