Administrative professionals aid Army medicine

By Joel McFarland, Reynolds Army Community Hospital Public Affairs OfficerApril 2, 2015

Capt. Carter
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT SILL, Okla. (April 2, 2015) -- Reynolds Army Community Hospital hosted Health Information Management Professionals Week, March 23-27. The week highlighted the Patient Administration Division and its role in managing and maintaining medical records.

Many different ailments, illnesses and conditions are treated in the hospital, but all Soldiers, patients and their family members have the right to know what is in their medical records and the proper way to access them.

Capt. Deidra Carter, Patient Administration Division chief along with her knowledgeable staff, manage and maintain records for over 30,000 beneficiaries at Reynolds. They also supervise all admission and discharge paperwork, birth and death certificates, and records for Soldier medical boards and the Warrior Transition Unit.

In addition to records management, division personnel also oversee the coding that determines how specific services are billed.

"The goal of Health Information Management Professional week is to ensure all our patients are aware that they have the right to know what is in their medical records and how to properly access them. A big challenge for us is when beneficiaries request a copy of their entire medical record, it can take quite a long time to compile the complete medical history of a patient, especially if the care in question is prior to the year 2000 before the Electronic Health Records came online," said Carter.

While patients can request paper copies of their records, an electronic copy is also available on a CD-ROM if requested.

"Another challenge is ensuring that patients follow the proper procedures when requesting health records," said Carter. "The one thing that I would let everyone know is to be sure you have the proper medical power of attorney for the records you need. Spouses need one to request records for their husband or wife, and step parents will need one when requesting the records for their step children."

The Reynolds Army Community Hospital website has extensive instructions on the proper way to request a copy of medical records. The Web page is at http://1.usa.gov/1IgdQTg. Army Regulation 40-66 stipulates patients are authorized one free copy of their records, which includes updates. After that, the charge is $13.25 for a search fee and 10 cents a page for a paper copy.

Carter said patients and beneficiaries are welcome to come down to the Patient Administration Division in the basement of Reynolds to request a copy. Patients can also call the information line at 580-558-2103 for information regarding the correct processes for requesting their records.