Department Information
Department Hours
Monday – Friday: 7:00am – 5:00pm
The move from paper to electronic health records (EHRs) will help doctors, nurses, and other medical staff makes important healthcare decisions on a real-time basis. But who ensures the information is complete, accurate, and kept confidential? This is the role of the health information management (HIM) professional.
Hamilton Memorial Hospital Health Information Management is dedicated to the effective management of patient information and healthcare data needed to deliver quality treatment and care to the public. As the healthcare industry moves further into the information age, the role of the health information management professional is becoming even more critical.
RELEASE OF INFORMATION:
Hamilton Memorial’s Health Information Department is responsible for fulfilling medical record requests for protected Health Information, or PHI. It is our policy to charge a nominal fee for all copies except those sent from HMHD directly to another health care facility or organization for the continuation of patient care. The requestor is responsible for any applicable charges involved for copying of these records.
Patients can request that copies be sent to their insurance company, attorney, or other entity that is not a continuing health care facility or organization with the proper written authorization from the patient or the responsible party.
To request medical records, a release of information form needs to be filled out and signed by the patient, and either brought to the office with proper photo ID, mailed with a copy of a proper photo ID and a witness’s signature, or the same faxed to the office. Upon HMHD’s receipt of a completed release form, a minimum of seven (7) business days is required to process all requests unless in an emergency situation. Patients appearing in person at the department can fill out the request form upon arrival with a valid photo ID, and will have their recorded mailed to them, the location of their choice, or they may pick them up during regular business hours. Our business hours are Monday – Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Records will not be released on weekends, holidays, or during the evening.
Hamilton Memorial’s Release of Information Form is available for download. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader installed in order to read the downloaded file. If you would like to request a hard copy of the form, or should you have any questions, please call 618-643-2361 ext. 4500.
