Your Own Medical Records
G.L. c. 112, § 12CC — inspection, a copy for a reasonable fee, and none for a benefits claim
In Massachusetts, a health care provider who keeps records for a patient it treated or examined permits the patient or an authorized representative to inspect them, and on request furnishes a copy for a reasonable fee. Health care providers include physicians and surgeons, therapists, dentists, nurses, optometrists, chiropractors, psychologists and podiatrists.
No fee when the record supports a benefits claim or appeal. No provider charges a fee for a record requested to support a claim or appeal under the Social Security Act or a federal or state needs based benefit program, and such a record is furnished within thirty days of the request. The person asking presents reasonable documentation of that purpose at the time of the request.
A psychotherapist may provide the entire record or a summary. If providing the entire record would in the psychotherapist's professional judgment adversely affect the patient's well-being, a summary is made available, and if the patient still asks for the whole record, it goes to the patient's attorney, with consent, or to another psychotherapist the patient designates.
What counts as a reasonable fee is defined in the hospital records section the provision refers to, which is not reproduced here. Whether a refusal or a fee was proper is a question for a court and for a licensed Massachusetts attorney.
Sources for this section (1)
- G.L. c. 112, § 12CC — Patient records; inspection and copies
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Massachusetts attorney.