Ombudsman assists couple with transferring medical records to new nursing home

The husband is the durable power of attorney for healthcare for his wife and wanted the medical records to help him and the new nursing home create a plan of care to meet his wife’s healthcare needs and personal preferences. The woman has difficulty communicating and is unable to participate directly in developing a plan of care. The nursing notes would provide the new nursing home with a guide for what has worked in the past.

The Ombudsman contacted the Administrator of the nursing home and learned that the copies were approved for release by the nursing home’s corporate office and that there is a photocopying charge of $4.00 per page. The Ombudsman informed the Administrator of the regulations (Ohio Administrative Code 3701-17-19) pertaining to the request for medical records by a resident or their legal representative. The nursing home is to provide photocopies of records upon two working days advance notice and may charge the recipient a fee not to exceed the community standard for photocopying, similar to that charged at a public library.

The Administrator noted that she would need to check with the regional corporate office to review the regulation and their policy for record requests. In the meantime, the Administrator agreed to have the records copied at no cost to the husband because of the delay.

The Ombudsman contacted the husband and learned that the nursing home called her and the records were ready to be picked up at no cost. Later in the week the Ombudsman contacted the Administrator as follow-up to the policy review and was informed that the nursing home would be making changes to their policy in alignment with the regulation.

The Ombudsman Column, a production of the Joint Office of Citizens’ Complaints, summarizes selected problems that citizens have had with government services, schools and nursing homes in the Dayton area. Contact the Ombudsman by writing to us at 11 W. Monument Ave., Suite 606, Dayton 45402, call 937-223- 4613, or by electronic mail at ombudsman@dayton-ombudsman.org.