We share our suggestions for ordering neurological records from Emory Healthcare.
GENERAL GUIDELINES
As noted in our generic instructions for ordering neurological records from any institution, the brain bank:
- now requires that records be at the brain bank prior to the passing of the intended brain donor
- neurological records ONLY are needed. No primary care physician records or hospice records. In the cases of Parkinson’s Disease, only the most recent 6-8 years of records are needed.
- it is always easiest to download neurological records via the online patient portal. If you don’t have access to the online patient portal, records must be ordered from the medical records office or clinic. Records can be sent from medical records offices or clinics directly to the brain bank. One advantage of this approach is that there may be no fee to the family. One disadvantage of this approach is that the family has no real way to confirm that records have been sent.
- ideally, records should be sent to the brain bank by email or posted to the cloud for download by the brain bank. Second choice is by fax. Third choice is by mail with tracking. Last choice is by mail with no tracking.
- ordering records and following up with the medical records offices or clinics is the family’s responsibility
EMORY HEALTHCARE INFORMATION
These suggestions are derived from speaking with staff from the medical records office and viewing helpful webpages, including:
Emory Healthcare Medical Records
To summarize that webpage, these are the four ways to obtain medical records:
If you are the intended donor or the intended donor’s legal representative, and have access to Emory Health MyChart, options #1 and #4 are recommended. #2 is also a good choice and does not require access to MyChart.
1. Download records through the Emory MyChart patient portal.
The online patient portal allows you to download your entire health record (or a specific date range). While this will work, Mayo only wants notes from the specialists you have seen pertaining to neurological symptoms.
To send just the information Mayo is interested in, you will need to save physicians notes for each individual appointment. Find these under “Visits” at the top of the page. When you select an office or telehealth visit, use the printer icon to save the notes as a PDF. When creating a file name, we suggest you use the physician’s name and appointment date.
“Lucy Summaries” “Health Summaries,” and “After Visit Summaries do not provide the specific provider notes that Mayo researchers seek. However, for some older office visits only the “after-visit summary” is available in My Chart. You must use request those older records using option #2 or #3.
Mayo also wants imaging reports. Find these under “Test Results” at the top of the page. Use the search box to enter the type of scan you want to find (brain MRI, head CT, DaTscan, PET scan, etc.). Select the imaging reports one at a time and use the printer icon to save as a PDF. When creating a file name, we suggest you use the type of scan and date performed.
For those unfamiliar with downloading individual appointment notes, we have tried to describe this process
–> At the top of the screen, click on “Visits”
–> Choose an appointment date and click on “View Notes”
–> At the top right of the screen, click on the printer icon
–> At the top of the browser window, click on “File,” then “Print”
–> In the print Destination options, select “Save as PDF”
–> We suggest naming the file with the doctor’s name and appointment date (JohnDoe_05-05-24)
–> Designate where to save the file on your computer
–> Click “Save”
Click on “Visits” again to return to the appointment list. Choose the next appointment date and repeat the steps to save notes for each specialist seen. You may need to click on “Load more past visits” at the bottom of the list (even several times) to view all past appointment dates.
Again, for those unfamiliar with downloading imaging reports, we have tried to describe this process:
–> At the top of the screen, click on “Test Results”
–> Type “MRI” in the Search box at the top of the test results list
–> Select a brain MRI report
–> At the top right of the screen, click on the printer icon
–> At the top of the browser window, click on “File,” then “Print”
–> In the print Destination options, select “Save as PDF”
–> We suggest naming the file with the type of image and date (MRI_05-05-23)
–> Designate where to save the file on your computer
–> Click “Save”
Use the back arrow to return to the “Test Results” list. Select the next imaging report to save and repeat the steps to save the report as a PDF.
Similarly, search in the “Test Results” list for “CT head,” “DaT,” or “PET” if any of those imaging tests were done. Save the reports to PDF as described above.
The PDFs you have downloaded may be submitted to Mayo by:
- Secure email to Dennis Dickson, MD, ℅ the Brain Bank Coordinator, Rachel LaPaille-Harwood, at [email protected]
- Post to Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, or other online file sharing service with a link to the file(s) sent via email to the Brain Bank Coordinator, Rachel LaPaille-Harwood, at [email protected]
- Fax to 904-953-7117 (Attn: Dennis Dickson, MD)
- US Mail to Dennis Dickson, MD, Mayo Clinic Jacksonville, Birdsall 310, 4500 San Pablo Road, Jacksonville, FL 32224-1865 (phone 904-953-2439)
2. Order records by completing an online request via Online Patient Record Request tool.
You do not need access to MyChart to use the Online Patient Record Request tool. The online tool verifies your identity by asking for a photo of your driver’s license, which can be taken via webcam or smartphone. There is no additional charge to use this service. If you are the legal representative, you may be asked to upload additional supporting documentation. The online tool offers a short video tutorial to aid you.
3. Complete the Emory Healthcare Authorization for the Release of Protected Health Information form.
Emory Health offers a fillable authorization form to complete, download, and submit.
Please provide as much information as possible on the form, such as:
-> Emory Healthcare Facility/Facilities – If you have been seen at multiple locations, check the box for each facility. If your facility is not listed, please check the box for “Other” and fill in the facility name.
-> Receiving Party, Format, and Method of Delivery – Unless you wish to have a personal copy, records should be faxed to Dennis Dickson, MD, Mayo Clinic Jacksonville, Birdsall 310, 4500 San Pablo Road, Jacksonville, FL 32224-1865 (phone 904-953-2439, fax 904-953-7117 )
Note: For records delivered in any format other than MyChart, there may be a fee assessed.
-> Description of Health Information to be Disclosed – Mayo only needs neurologically-related records. You may check the box for Partial Medical Record and specify which records are requested (you must provide a date or date range of service).
Pertinent records may include: Consultations, Office notes/Progress notes, Operative reports, ED Record (neurology related), and Other. (Other should be All neurologically-related imaging reports. Note: Mayo does not need the imaging itself; only the reports.)
-> Purpose of Disclosure – Check the box for “Other” and use any of the following examples as the purpose for release: “medical research,” “clinical-pathological correlation” or “brain bank research.”
-> If the intended donor is signing the form… You may sign, date, and return the completed form via fax, email, or mail to your specific Health Information Management (HIM) Department. The list of HIM Departments and contact information can be found on this webpage:
https://www.emoryhealthcare.org/patients-visitors/patient-and-visitor-resources/medical-records
-> If the intended donor is not able to sign the form, the medical power-of-attorney should sign his/her name. When you submit the completed authorization form, be sure to include a copy of the medical power-of-attorney document and a photograph of the medical power-of-attorney’s government-issued ID.
Unsigned or incomplete forms will not be processed. This includes a signature on the patient fee sheet (page 4).
Requests for information will be submitted for processing 24 to 48 hours after receipt of the form and records will be delivered in 7 to 10 business days.
4. Share access to online records with Brain Support Network via the MyChart patient portal.
From the MyChart menu, you may see a “Share Everywhere” option. This feature grants a one-time limited access to another party with a one-time link.
(Note: Before “sharing” access to your records, it is important to coordinate a scheduled time with the party you are “sharing” with, such as Brain Support Network. The access code generated by MyChart typically expires within 60 minutes.)
In the field beneath “Who’s accessing your record?” enter the email address of the party you intend to grant access to, such as the email address of a Brain Support Network staff member. Click on the “Request Share Code” button.
You will need to provide this code to the person with whom you are “sharing” access. That individual will visit www.shareeverywhere.com and enter an email address, the share code, and date of birth of the intended donor.
For some older office visits only the “after-visit summary” is available in My Chart. If this is the case for diagnostic or second opinion appointments, you must request those older records using option #2 or #3.