List of Forms and Contact Details Required to Request Medical Records in Virginia (PI Lawyers' Checklist)
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Virginia personal injury attorneys face a common bottleneck: medical records requests that should arrive within 30 days often drag on for 60–90 days through traditional manual processes. This checklist covers the authorization requirements, request strategy, and legal workflow Virginia PI lawyers can use to retrieve complete medical records efficiently—plus how Codes Health supports complete records in 10–12 days (flat fee) by preventing authorization errors and driving consistent follow-ups.
Key Takeaways
- Virginia law requires medical records delivery within 30 days—but manual processes often take 60-90 days
- The HIPAA authorization form must include specific elements per HIPAA regulations requirements, with Virginia-specific considerations
- Virginia hospitals can charge up to $160 maximum for electronic records under current fee schedules
- New 2025 law: One free EHR copy per year for disability/benefits claims under HB 1629, effective July 1, 2025
- Incomplete authorizations are the #1 cause of denied requests—missing signatures or unchecked boxes restart your 15-day clock
- Codes Health (flat fee) delivers organized, complete records in 10–12 days with automated error prevention and daily follow-ups
Understanding Virginia's Medical Record Request Landscape for PI Cases
Virginia operates under both federal HIPAA requirements and state-specific medical records laws that create a defined framework for personal injury attorneys.
Key Legal Frameworks Governing Medical Records in Virginia
Virginia Code § 8.01-413 establishes the primary requirements for attorney medical records requests. Providers must deliver records within 30 days of receiving a proper authorization and agreed-upon fees. Additionally, Virginia Code § 32.1-127.1:03 requires providers to respond within 15 days with at least an acknowledgment of the request.
Key statutory requirements include:
- Written request must be dated and signed
- Reasonable description of records sought
- 15-day initial response requirement
- 30-day maximum delivery timeline
- Specific fee caps for attorney/litigation requests
Why Accurate Requests Are Crucial for Personal Injury Cases
The 30-day legal requirement sounds reasonable—but reality often differs significantly. Provider delays, authorization rejections, and follow-up gaps extend typical retrieval timelines to 60-90 days through manual processes. For PI attorneys operating under Virginia's two-year statute, these delays compress case preparation windows and jeopardize settlement negotiations.
Incomplete authorizations are the #1 cause of denied requests. Missing patient signatures, unclear expiration dates, or unchecked boxes for sensitive records can restart your 15-day clock. Codes Health’s AI review catches these errors before submission—automatically flagging misspellings, missing dates of service, and signature issues that would otherwise trigger rejections.
The Essential Virginia Medical Records Request Form: Your Checklist
Every medical records request requires a properly executed authorization form. Virginia offers multiple options depending on provider type and case circumstances.
Mandatory Fields for a Valid Virginia ROI Form
Per HIPAA regulations and Virginia law, valid authorization forms must include:
- Patient identification: Full legal name, date of birth, address, SSN (optional but helpful)
- Provider information: Name and address of healthcare provider holding records
- Recipient details: Name and address of person/entity to receive records (your law firm)
- Description of information: Date range and specific records needed
- Purpose statement: "Legal claim," "personal injury litigation," or "evaluation of claim"
- Expiration date: Commonly 1-2 years from signature
- Right to revoke: Statement about patient's revocation rights
- Re-disclosure warning: Notice about potential re-disclosure
- Signature and date: Patient signature (or legal representative with relationship stated)
- Special authorizations: Separate initials/boxes for sensitive information (HIV/AIDS, mental health, substance abuse, genetic testing)
Key Forms by Provider Type
Standard HIPAA Authorization Form
- Download from eforms.com or provider-specific websites
- Must comply with both HIPAA and Virginia Medical Records Privacy Act
- Include broad language covering: office notes, ER records, imaging, labs, pathology, rehab, pharmacy, billing
VA Form 10-5345a (For VA Medical Centers)
- Official title: "Individuals' Request for a Copy of Their Own Health Information"
- Download at VA.gov forms
- Processing: Electronic records up to 30 calendar days; paper records (pre-1998) up to 60 calendar days
Provider-Specific Forms Major Virginia systems maintain their own authorization templates. Using provider-preferred forms typically expedites processing by reducing rejection rates.
Avoiding Common Pitfalls in Form Completion
Codes Health's E-Signature and Document Management Platform provides a HIPAA-compliant system for intake documents, including release of information requests. The platform catches authorization deficiencies before submission—preventing the delays that compound into weeks of case timeline extension.
Navigating Provider Contact Details for Medical Records in Virginia
Virginia's largest healthcare systems process thousands of medical records requests monthly. Each maintains distinct procedures that can accelerate or delay your retrieval timeline.
Northern Virginia Providers
- Central Contact: Health Information Management
- Address: 8110 Gatehouse Road, Falls Church, VA 22042
- Phone: (703) 204-3310
- Fax: (703) 204-3340
- Hours: Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
- Online: Inova MyChart portal
- Processing Time: 15-30 days
Key Inova Facilities:
- Inova Fairfax Medical Campus: (703) 776-4001
- Inova Alexandria Hospital: (703) 504-3000
- Inova Fair Oaks Hospital: (703) 391-3600
- Inova Loudoun Hospital: (703) 858-6000
Central Virginia Providers
- Mailing Address: VCU Health, Department of Health Information Management, Box 980679, Richmond, VA 23298-0679
- Phone: (804) 828-9000 (main switchboard)
- Fax: (804) 828-5344
- Email: HIM@vcuhealth.org
- Hours: Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM
- Online: VCU Health MyChart portal
- Amendment Requests: HIM-administration@vcuhealth.org
- Mailing Address: PO Box 800476, Charlottesville, VA 22908-0476
- Phone: (434) 924-5136
- Fax: (434) 924-2432
- Email: CLHIMDCT@hscmail.mcc.virginia.edu
- Forms: Available in English and Spanish (revised July 2024)
Bon Secours Health - Richmond
- MyChart Support: (804) 281-8279
- MyChart Help Desk: (866) 385-7060
Richmond Area Bon Secours Facilities:
- Memorial Regional Medical Center: Medical Records (804) 764-6427 | Fax (804) 764-6324
- Richmond Community Hospital: Medical Records (804) 545-3235 | Fax (804) 764-6324
- St. Francis Medical Center: Medical Records (804) 281-8135 | Fax (804) 673-9561
- St. Mary's Hospital: Medical Records (804) 281-8135 | Fax (804) 673-9561
- Southside Regional Medical Center: Medical Records (804) 765-5760 | Fax (804) 765-5766
Hampton Roads Providers
- Central Address: Health Information Management, 800 Independence Boulevard, 5th Floor, Virginia Beach, VA 23455
- Phone: (757) 507-7110
- Fax: (757) 995-7366
- Online: Sentara MyChart portal
- Forms: Available in English and Spanish
Key Sentara Facilities:
- Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital: (757) 395-8572
- Sentara Norfolk General Hospital: (757) 388-3000
- Sentara Leigh Hospital: (757) 261-6000
- Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center: (757) 984-6000
VA Medical Centers
- Contact: 1-877-771-VHIE (toll-free VHIE line)
- Form Required: VA Form 10-5345a
- Submission: Secure message through VA patient portal to "Release of Information" team
- Processing: 30 days (electronic); 60 days (paper records pre-1998)
- Contact: 1-800-698-2411 (general VA helpline)
- Geographic Service: Richmond, Petersburg, surrounding counties
- Geographic Service: Roanoke, Salem, Southwest Virginia
Managing multiple providers becomes exponentially complex as case complexity increases. Codes Health's centralized platform addresses this challenge—submit all requests through one interface, track all statuses in real-time, and receive organized chronological records without manually managing dozens of provider relationships.
Virginia Medical Records Fee Schedules: What Providers Can Legally Charge
Virginia Code § 8.01-413(B) establishes specific maximum fees that vary by record format.
Attorney/Litigation Request Fees
Paper Records:
- Pages 1-50: $0.50 per page (maximum $25.00)
- Pages 51+: $0.25 per page
- Search & Handling: $20.00 flat fee
- Microfilm/Micrographic: $1.00 per page
Electronic Records:
- Pages 1-50: $0.37 per page (maximum $18.50)
- Pages 51+: $0.18 per page
- Search & Handling: $20.00 flat fee
- Total Cap: $160.00 (all-inclusive for electronic records)
Imaging Studies (X-ray, MRI, CT):
- Per study (electronic): $25.00 per series/study
- Search & Handling: $10.00
- Postage & Shipping: Actual cost
Example Cost Calculations
200-Page Paper Record:
- Pages 1-50: $25.00
- Pages 51-200: $37.50
- Search & Handling: $20.00
- Shipping: ~$5.00
- Total: $87.50
200-Page Electronic Record:
- Pages 1-50: $18.50
- Pages 51-200: $27.00
- Search & Handling: $20.00
- Total: $65.50 (well under $160 cap)
New 2025: One Free EHR Copy Per Year
Virginia HB 1629, effective July 1, 2025, provides one free electronic health record copy per calendar year for patients or their attorneys supporting:
- Social Security disability claims (SSDI, SSI)
- Medicare or Medicaid claims
- VA Benefits claims
- Any federal/state needs-based benefit program
Required Documentation:
- SSA Appointment of Representative form, OR
- Notice of/request for hearing, OR
- Evidence of representation in disability courts
Cost management tip: Always request electronic format when available—it's significantly cheaper than paper and subject to the $160 cap.
Expediting Your Virginia Medical Record Retrieval
The submission method you choose directly impacts your retrieval timeline, with electronic options consistently outperforming traditional mail.
Submission Method Comparison
Patient Portal Systems (Fastest)
- MyChart (VCU Health, UVA Health, Sentara, Inova)
- Patients access records within 24-48 hours
- Attorney portal requests typically process in ~12 business days
Fax Submission (Most Common for Attorneys)
- Instant confirmation pages
- Always follow up with phone call within 2-3 business days
- Use fax numbers from verified directory above
Email Submission (When Accepted)
- Confirm provider accepts PDF authorization via email
- Use subject lines: "URGENT: Medical Records Request - [Patient Name]"
Mail Submission (Slowest)
- Certified mail with return receipt for legal proof
- Adds ~12 days for delivery plus internal routing delays
Proactive Error Prevention
Codes Health employs AI error checking to review record requests before submission. The system proactively catches errors that cause provider rejections:
- Misspellings in patient names
- Missing dates of service
- Absent wet signatures
- Incomplete authorization boxes
Daily automated follow-ups with all providers ensure persistent pursuit of outstanding records without manual staff intervention.
Securing Your Client's Privacy: HIPAA Compliance in Virginia PI Cases
HIPAA compliance isn't optional—it's essential for protecting both your client and your practice.
Ensuring Valid Authorization for Record Release
Per HIPAA regulations, valid HIPAA authorizations must contain all required elements. Missing any component invalidates the entire authorization.
Special Considerations for Sensitive Records:
- Mental Health Records: Require separate authorization language
- Substance Abuse Records: Must comply with 42 CFR Part 2 requirements
- HIV/AIDS Information: Virginia has specific protections requiring explicit authorization
- Genetic Testing Results: Require separate consent
Protecting PHI Throughout the Litigation Process
Codes Health operates as a HIPAA-compliant platform, meeting regulatory requirements for handling protected health information in legal contexts. The platform provides secure document storage, enabling record reuse across multiple cases without repeated retrieval costs.
Can I Look Up My Own Medical Records in Virginia?
Understanding patient access rights helps PI attorneys guide clients through the records process.
The Patient's Right to Access Their Own Records
Under HIPAA's Privacy Rule, patients have the right to access their medical records within 30 days of request. Virginia law mirrors this timeline.
Free or Low-Cost Patient Access Options:
- MyChart Portals: Inova, VCU Health, Sentara, UVA Health all offer free patient portal access
- Direct Requests: Some facilities waive fees for patient-to-patient requests
- Disability Claims: One free EHR copy annually under HB 1629 (effective 7/1/2025)
Patient vs. Attorney-Initiated Requests
While patients can access their own records quickly through portals, attorney requests typically require formal authorization processing. For PI cases, having clients download records through patient portals can accelerate initial case assessment, followed by formal attorney requests for certified copies needed at trial.
Streamlining Your PI Practice with Advanced Medical Record Management
Medical records retrieval has evolved from administrative necessity to strategic competitive advantage.
The Manual Process Reality
Traditional medical records management consumes significant resources:
- 10-15 hours weekly of staff time tracking requests and managing provider correspondence
- 30-90 day average turnaround through manual processes despite Virginia's 30-day legal requirement
- High error rates from incomplete authorizations and missed follow-ups
- Disorganized delivery requiring hours of manual sorting and indexing
The Codes Health Advantage
For Virginia personal injury lawyers, Codes Health offers compelling advantages:
AI-Powered Request Review: Catches authorization deficiencies before submission—preventing rejections that add weeks to manual processes.
Automated Daily Follow-Ups: Maintains provider contact automatically, enforcing Virginia's 30-day requirement consistently without staff intervention.
Real-Time Visibility: Complete transparency into every request status eliminates the "black box" frustration of traditional retrieval services.
Automatic Record Organization: Records arrive chronologically organized across all providers, immediately ready for expert review.
AI-Driven Case Insights: The platform automatically extracts buried diagnoses, identifies breaches of care, and surfaces case-critical facts that might be overlooked in manual review.
10–12 day turnaround (complete records): Some competitors advertise same-day retrieval, but those “instant” pulls often don’t include the complete chart and still require client involvement to finish the request—creating delays and churn. Codes Health delivers complete, comprehensive records in ~10–12 days without pushing follow-up work onto your client.
Flat Fee Pricing: Predictable costs without surprise provider fee markups.
Custom Integrations: For high-volume practices, Codes Health can build custom integrations with CRM platforms and medical software systems.
Continuously evolving platform: Codes Health’s MIT-educated engineering team continuously builds out additional workflows and products, ensuring the platform constantly evolves, improves, and becomes more comprehensive to meet changing demands for legal medical record workflows.
General AI platforms (ChatGPT, etc.) are not designed to reliably analyze medical records for litigation and can miss structure and context in complex charts. Codes Health’s AI is purpose-built for PI and can analyze and organize medical records with high precision for personal injury, mass tort, and medical malpractice workflows.
Ready to Transform Your Medical Records Process?
The 30-90 day medical records bottleneck doesn't have to stall your settlements or consume your staff's time. Codes Health provides a medical records retrieval and AI-powered analysis platform built for Virginia personal injury workflows—combining approximately 10-12 day turnaround with automated organization and case-critical insights extraction.
Schedule a demonstration to see how legal-grade AI can handle your entire pre-litigation medical records workflow.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average turnaround time for medical record requests in Virginia?
Virginia law requires providers to deliver records within 30 days of receiving proper authorization and fees. However, manual processes often take 60-90 days due to provider delays and follow-up gaps. Codes Health's automated platform reduces this to approximately 10-12 days.
Can a hospital charge me for medical records in Virginia?
Yes, but fees are capped by Virginia Code § 8.01-413. Electronic records are capped at $160 total. Paper records cost $0.50 per page for the first 50 pages, then $0.25 per additional page, plus a $20 search fee. Starting July 1, 2025, HB 1629 provides one free EHR copy annually for disability/benefits claims.
How long do medical providers in Virginia keep medical records?
The Virginia Health Information Management Association provides guidance on retention policies. Generally, providers must retain adult patient records for a minimum of 6-7 years. For minors, records are typically retained until the patient reaches age 18 plus the applicable retention period.
What should I do if a Virginia provider denies my medical record request?
If denied, the provider must respond within 15 days with a written statement explaining the denial and providing instructions for filing complaints with both the Virginia Board of Medicine and HHS. Review the denial reason, correct any deficiencies, and resubmit. For persistent denials, prepare a subpoena duces tecum per Virginia Code § 32.1-127.1:03(H).
Is a digital signature acceptable on a Virginia medical record authorization form?
Yes. Major Virginia healthcare systems including Inova, Sentara, and others accept electronic signatures through DocuSign, Adobe, and similar platforms. Codes Health's E-Signature platform provides HIPAA-compliant digital signing for authorization forms.
How does Codes Health ensure the completeness of medical records needed for a PI case?
Codes Health employs Missing Record Review that cross-references patient medical history to identify gaps in record collection before trial. The platform visualizes missing records by comparing treatment documentation to received records and flags incomplete provider deliveries requiring follow-up—ensuring your case file is complete before critical deadlines.
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