Do NYS healthcare providers have a legal time limit to get your medical test results to you?

Question

United States (New York state) here. My wife got some bloodwork done at her doctor's office a few weeks ago, and she confirmed last Monday (2/2/21) with their office that the results were back, but the office secretary couldn't read her the results. Instead she has to wait for a nurse to call her back to read the results.

She has called every 2 days since then and not only do the nurses not call back, but the office secretary keeps telling her that they are backlogged with work and that they will call when they can.

I understand these are trying times, but 7 business days to make a call and read some results?

Are there any NYS or Federal laws (HIPAA, etc.) that compel healthcare providers to give you your results within a set timeframe of the results being available? If so, what specific law/subsection/etc. is this, what are its terms and can someone provide a link to it?

Answer 1

According to this HHS.gov web page:

Under the HIPAA Privacy Rule, a covered entity must act on an individual’s request for access no later than 30 calendar days after receipt of the request. If the covered entity is not able to act within this timeframe, the entity may have up to an additional 30 calendar days, as long as it provides the individual – within that initial 30-day period – with a written statement of the reasons for the delay and the date by which the entity will complete its action on the request. See 45 CFR 164.524(b)(2).

According to This Official NY state page:

Q. How long will it take to see my records?

A. Once your request is received, a physician or health care facility has 10 days to provide you with an opportunity to inspect your records. The law does not provide a specific time period by which copies of medical records must be provided. However, the state Health Department considers 10 to 14 days to be a reasonable time in which a practitioner should respond to such a request.

So, while a timely response is desirable, a week is less than the legally enforceable period under HIPPA.