Obtaining Medical Records

Your medical records help you and your physician keep careful track of your health and well-being.

At University of Missouri Health Care, we ensure the documentation of your care is appropriate for federal and state guidelines and billing purposes. We keep copies of your health records organized and available for any physician you choose, for your insurance company, for your attorney or for your personal use.

Patient’s may obtain their own medical records on a walk-in basis at the University Hospital.

What are medical records?

A medical record is documentation of health care services provided to you at the direction of a physician, nurse or other caregiver.

These records include documentation of:

  • Diagnoses
  • Imaging studies such as X-rays, MRIs or CT scans
  • Lab work such as blood tests
  • Other diagnostic tests
  • Treatments
  • Your health care provider’s medical observations

Your records can be a paper record, electronic record or both. Your medical record for care received at MU Health Care is property of MU Health Care.

Access my medical records

MU Health Care Health Information Services department maintains federally compliant Release of Information Authorization forms. These forms identify to whom we can release records and what records you want us to release. Please find the appropriate form below to request your medical records.

To access your records, you will need to sign this form in the department. We can fax the form to you and you can fax it back when it is completed.

According to federal regulation, you must meet more requirements to access information on drug and alcohol abuse or mental health care. Before we release this information, we must receive specific detailed authorizations from you, the patient.

Subpoenas and court orders are the only exceptions to these requirements. A health care facility must present medical records for use in that particular court case.

Payment for copies of medical records

If you want copies of your health care records for your personal files, you must pay a small charge. If the copies are for your physician’s use, you do not need to pay a charge. Attorneys and insurance companies must also pay a charge.

You can learn about our fees, which are set by the state of Missouri, by calling the Health Information Services department at 573-882-3170.

Death certification

Funeral homes and mortuaries that need assistance with death certificate completion should contact the medical records help desk at 573-882-4312. Voicemail messages left on this line are secure, and someone will respond during business hours, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.