IMPORTANT NOTICE ABOUT COVID-19 AND DELIVERY BY MAIL OF REQUESTED DOCUMENTS: With the U.S. under a State of National Emergency, our office has been closed, and all employees are working from home. As a result, we do not have access to our metering machine nor the company mail room. PLEASE NOTE THAT delivery by mail may be delayed several weeks to far more than a month. If your firm is working against a deadline, you are strongly encouraged to choose electronic delivery of your requested documents in ChartSwap.
GENERAL INFORMATION
We understand that patients may turn to the courts after an accident, and Mediserv LTD has assembled a team to assist law firms and record retrieval companies in securing the documents needed to further a legal claim. As a billing company for ER and hospitalist physicians groups, we only provide PDF copies of physician billing. Medical records and films are maintained by and available through the hospital at which your client was treated.
In addition to providing PDF copies of our physicians’ billing, we also provide certification pages, notarized affidavits and notarized depositions. With few exceptions, there is a fee for each of these documents which is added to the cost of the billing statement(s). These charges, many of which are regulated by state law, are detailed below.
MEDICAL RELEASE REQUIREMENT
As of 2018, we only accept the medical release form created by our legal counsel. (You may access and download the form here.) It is a relatively simple, straightforward document that requires the following information:
- Accurate and legal name of the doctors group;
- Patient name (as given at the hospital) and all known aliases;
- Date of birth and the last four digits of the SSN (for patients without an SSN, the patient’s address as provided at the ER will suffice);
- Requested date(s) of service (either a range or a specific date);
- Law firm’s or insurance company’s information;
- Reason for the release of the PHI;
- Signature, printed name of the signer, and relationship of the signer to the patient.
DIGITAL SIGNATURES
If the medical release is signed digitally, the medical release must be accompanied by the complete audit report (which includes the IP address used by the patient to sign the release) in the same PDF file as the release. For example, if the document was signed using DocuSign, the Certificate of Completion will suffice as the audit trail.
SUBMITTING YOUR REQUEST
Once the medical release has been completed and signed / dated by the patient, please direct the document to us by forwarding a request through ChartSwap. For those unfamiliar with ChartSwap, it is a Houston-based technology company which operates a business-to-business, HIPAA-compliant e-commerce website (www.chartswap.com). This web-based utility, ChartSwap, facilitates the electronic exchange of legal and medical documents, and it is the only method by which we receive requests for records.
With respect to submitting the request, bear in mind that
- the request MUST BE ACCURATELY SUBMITTED. Requests that include a deposition must be identified as Billing (With Deposition) from the options in the Record Type drop down menu. Requests that require a notarized affidavit must be identified as Billing (With Affidavit) from the options in the Record Type drop down menu. And,
- all information keyed into ChartSwap must match what it listed on the medical release. For example, if the requesting firm keys in one date of service (or date range) into ChartSwap but lists a different date of service (or date range) on the medical release, that is considered conflicting information, and the request will be rejected for corrections.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS / ANSWERS
Q: Why do you require that firms submit requests only through ChartSwap?
A: The U.S. Postal Service has become increasingly unreliable, and there is no way to execute payment by secure e-mail exchanges. By requiring ChartSwap, we are able to bypass the postal service altogether (unless the requesting firm requests fulfillment by U.S. mail). Plus, the requesting firm is able to submit requests, receive invoices and make payment all in the same utility.
Q: Why was my request rejected on ChartSwap?
A: Whenever we reject a request, an explanation is provided. If you are unsure where to find that information, please refer to the ChartSwap user’s manual or ask ChartSwap where to find the rejection note via the “Contact ChartSwap” button at the top of the request page.
Q: What is the status of my ChartSwap request?
A: ChartSwap cleverly provides a built-in tracking function that allows the user to track a request from its inception to fulfillment. Please refer to the ChartSwap user’s manual if you need assistance in learning how to use the tracking function. Understand that this is not a question we will answer via the phone nor through a message sent to our e-mail. You must learn to track your own requests using ChartSwap.
Q: What if we do not want to pay the $10 electronic fulfillment fee that ChartSwap assesses?
A: Your firm may always choose delivery by mail, though we accept no responsibility should the postal service misdirect your firm’s paperwork. Bear in mind that the $10 fee covers more than a single upload through the ChartSwap utility. It also covers maintenance of the website and allows ChartSwap to buy cloud memory so that your firm’s paperwork is available and accessible for 90 days.
Q: Our firm mailed our payment. How can we determine if the check has been received / posted?
A: Every time that a request moves from one status to the next (e.g., from Payment Pending to Fulfill Paid Request status), an e-mail message is sent to the e-mail address on file. (Please consult the ChartSwap User’s Manual for specific information about this process.) If you are still unsure about the status of your mailed payment, please call your firm’s bank to determine if the check has been posted to your firm’s account.
Q: Can we choose delivery by an expedited delivery service?
A: Of course. With your request, please upload a prepaid, self-addressed, FULLY completed airbill (please place your firm’s address information in both the sender’s and recipient’s portion of the airbill) for either UPS, FedEx or Lone Star Overnight. Please remember that the logoed boxes and cardboard envelopes provided by the various delivery companies are provided at no cost for Express shipments only. You may not provide an airbill for ground delivery as that requires different packaging.
Q: Why do you require that firms use only the Mediserv medical release form?
A: The OCR, in their “Newly Released FAQs on Access Guidance” document from 2016, states specifically that “In addition, a covered entity may require individuals to use the entity’s own form…” (This information is in the paragraph below the “Requiring a Written Request” sub-header, page 3/36.) We know that our release is no more HIPAA-compliant or robust than your company’s medical authorization form. In requiring requesting firm’s to use our release, we benefit by knowing exactly where each piece of required information is located, from the date the release was signed to the name of the requesting entity, etc. We interact with roughly 400 firms in nearly a dozen states each week. We can no longer adapt to all the various medical release forms (some of which are in paragraph format) that we receive. We must standardize the invoicing and fulfilling processes.
Q: How long will it take to receive records?
A: It is our goal to work requests more quickly than required by state law, typically in about 7-8 business days. Understand that during peak times, such as the Thanksgiving / Christmas Holiday months, high volume (plus seasonal holidays) will significantly impact turn-around times. It is expected that each law firm’s employees know the statutes that dictate state fees and fulfillment timetables in the states in which they do business. If not, you may use the following information to estimate when, after making payment, your request will be fulfilled:
Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma: 30 calendar days
Louisiana and Texas: 15 business days
Nevada: 20 working days
Q: How do I request my client’s current balance?
A: We work all requests for a patient’s balance by secure e-mail message. Please direct a request for balance to legal@mediservltd.com and be sure to include a current medical release. (See the above note on this page’s Q&A about our firm’s medical release.)
Q: Where do I forward a reduction request?
A: All reduction requests are worked by secure e-mail message. Please forward your proposal to legal@mediservltd.com and be sure to include a current medical release. (See the above note on this page’s Q&A about our firm’s medical release.)
Q: Do you offer expedited processing of ChartSwap requests?
A: We no longer offer expedited processing of requests, even if the law firm is willing to pay a fee.
Q: What methods of payment are acceptable?
A: All payments are made through ChartSwap. Currently, ChartSwap accepts payment by paper check, credit card payments, e-check payments, and ACH payments.
Please note that our working your company’s request is predicated upon payment of the invoice.
Q: We paid the invoice but no longer need the records. Will you cancel the request and refund the payment?
A: With few exceptions, we do not refund payments.
BY-STATE LISTING OF FEES FOR 2020
All fees exclude the cost of delivery (1st class postage or ChartSwap’s charge for electronic delivery)
Arkansas
Billing Only Request (one page of billing) $15.50
Billing with Certification Page (one page of billing) $25.50
Billing by Notarized Affidavit (one page of billing) $30.50
Billing by Notarized Deposition (one page of billing) $50.50
Colorado
Billing Only Request (one page of billing) $18.53
Billing with Certification Page (one page of billing) $28.53
Billing by Notarized Affidavit (one page of billing) $34.53
Billing by Notarized Deposition (one page of billing) $53.53
Florida
Billing Only Request (one page of billing) $1.00
Billing with Certification Page (one page of billing) $11.00
Billing by Notarized Affidavit (one page of billing) $17.00
Billing by Notarized Deposition (one page of billing) $36.00
Illinois
Billing Only Request (one page of billing)
Paper copy of records $30.18
Electronic records $29.63
Billing with Certification Page (one page of billing)
Paper copy of records $40.18
Electronic records $39.63
Billing by Notarized Affidavit (one page of billing)
Paper copy of records $46.18
Electronic records $45.63
Billing by Notarized Deposition (one page of billing)
Paper copy of records $65.18
Electronic records $64.63
Iowa
Billing Only Request (one page of billing) $20.00
Billing with Certification Page (one page of billing) $30.00
Billing by Notarized Affidavit (one page of billing) $30.00
Billing by Notarized Deposition (one page of billing) $55.00
Kansas
Billing Only Request (one page of billing) $22.29
Billing with Certification Page (one page of billing) $32.29
Billing by Notarized Affidavit (one page of billing) $38.29
Billing by Notarized Deposition (one page of billing) $57.29
Louisiana
Billing Only Request (one page of billing) $26.00
Billing with Certification Page (one page of billing) $26.00
Billing by Notarized Affidavit (one page of billing) $41.00
Billing by Notarized Deposition (one page of billing) $61.00
Missouri
Billing Only Request (one page of billing) $26.66
Billing with Certification Page (one page of billing) $36.66
Billing by Notarized Affidavit (one page of billing) $42.66
Billing by Notarized Deposition (one page of billing) $61.66
Nevada
Billing Only Request (one page of billing) $0.60
Billing with Certification Page (one page of billing) $10.60
Billing by Notarized Affidavit (one page of billing) $16.60
Billing by Notarized Deposition (one page of billing) $35.60
Oklahoma
Billing Only Request (one page of billing)
Paper copy of records $10.50
Electronic records $10.30
Billing with Certification Page (one page of billing)
Paper copy of records $20.50
Electronic records $20.30
Billing by Notarized Affidavit (one page of billing)
Paper copy of records $25.50
Electronic records $25.30
Billing by Notarized Deposition (one page of billing)
Paper copy of records $45.50
Electronic records $45.30
Texas
Billing Only Request (one page of billing) $25.00
Billing by Notarized Affidavit (one page of billing) $40.00
Billing by Notarized Deposition (one page of billing) $60.00
