Medical Record Transfers
St Clair Medical Practice
Your Medical Records
Your medical records are confidential documents. It is the policy of St Clair Medical Practice to maintain the security of personal health information at all times and to ensure that this information is only available to authorised members of staff and your information is securely stored.
Your medical records are retained for the full legal retention period, which is:
- 7 years from the date of last entry for adults
- until the patient is 25 years old for records of children.
If you would like more information about how your information is handled, please read our Privacy Policy.
We charge a reasonable administrative fee for full electronic medical records. Health Summaries can be provided for free as well as you can access a digital summary of your health including prescriptions & dispensed medicines, immunisation history, hospital discharge summaries and pathology and diagnostic imaging reports through My Health Record.
Electronic Medical Record Transfer Fees
Full record transfers attract an administrative fee as follows:
- Full Medical Record Transfer (Electronic): $60
- Full Medical Record Transfer (Practice-supplied USB): $70
- Full Medical Records (Hard Copy): $60 for up to 40 pages; $1 for each additional page
- Health Summary & Recent Investigations - Free
Please note:
- For cyber-security and data protection reasons, we cannot accept patient supplied USBs as external USB devices cannot be safely connected to our clinical systems.
- Full medical records are very large in size and cannot be sent as attachments to emails
- Upon the receipt of a valid request for Medical Record Transfer and receipt of payment, we will send your Medical Records electronically to your new practice via a secure file-sharing link.
- Please allow up to 30 days from the date of request and payment for records to be sent.
Requesting your Medical Records
Click here to complete a Medical Records Request Form
Please note:
- A separate form must be completed for each individual
- Fees apply per person (unless requesting a Health Summary)
- Photo identification is required for all requests.
- If requesting a Full Medical Record Transfer, full fee must be paid
- Requests must be submitted by the patient or by a person formally authorised by the patient to act on their behalf, such as a parent of a child under the age of 16, legal guardian, or person holding recognised legal authority.
Please allow up to 30 days from the date of request and payment for records to be sent.
Health Summary - Free of Charge
Before requesting a full medical record transfer, please consider whether a Health Summary will meet your needs:
- A Health Summary includes current medications, conditions, immunisations and recent investigation reports
- This is free of charge and is usually all your new GP requires, particularly if you will be seeing the same GP at another practice
- If you require a particular item from your record, such as a specialist report, discharge summary, imaging or pathology report or other specific correspondence we are very happy to provide this individually, now or at any point in the future, so that you can avoid paying for a full record transfer
My Health Record - Accessible via MyGov (Free)
Through My Health Record, you can access a digital summary of your health information including:
- Prescriptions & dispensed medicines
- Immunisation history
- Hospital discharge summaries
- Pathology and diagnostic imaging reports.
My Health Record allows you to:
Share with providers - You can share your health information easily with doctors, hospitals, and other providers
- Faster access to results - Pathology and imaging reports become available quicker
- Manage your health information - Add notes, view history, and control privacy settings
Our aim is to help patients avoid unnecessary costs. However, if you prefer a full record transfer, we will always provide one upon request.
Medical Record Requests From Other Practices
St Clair Medical Practice is currently managing a high volume of medical record requests, including requests initiated via other medical practices.
To protect patient privacy and ensure compliance with health-privacy legislation, all medical record requests are managed directly by St Clair Medical Practice in accordance with our medical records transfer process.
Please note:
- Medical record requests must be submitted by the patient or by a person formally authorised by the patient to act on their behalf, such as a parent, legal guardian, or person holding recognised legal authority. Other medical practices are not considered authorised representatives for the purpose of requesting records from our practice.
- Requests for full medical records submitted via another practice, will not be complete or valid until any applicable fee has been paid. Even where a patient has signed a form elsewhere, it may not meet our verification, identification, and payment requirements.
- An administrative fee must be paid for full medical record transfers before records can be released.
- Patients who do not wish to request a full medical record may instead request a
free Health Summary, which is often sufficient for continuity of care,
particularly where the patient is continuing treatment with the same GP. Health Summaries can be requested directly via our Medical Records Transfer Form.
- Requests submitted by third parties, including other medical practices, cannot alter or expedite our records transfer process.
- For cybersecurity reasons, patient-supplied USB devices are not accepted.
- Full medical records cannot be sent as email attachments due to file size and security requirements and are transferred securely via approved file-sharing methods once all requirements have been met.
Important:
Patients are advised not to rely on information about St Clair Medical Practice’s medical records process that is provided by other practices or third parties. Information not provided directly by St Clair Medical Practice may be incomplete or inaccurate and may result in unnecessary delays in accessing medical information.
If you have questions or have received information about our records-transfer process from another party, we encourage you to contact St Clair Medical Practice directly so we can provide accurate and up-to-date guidance.
You can Call us, Email us, or complete the Medical Records Transfer Request Form.
Management of your Personal Information & Privacy Policy
Your medical records are confidential documents. It is the policy of this practice to maintain the security of personal health information at all times and to ensure that this information is only available to authorised members of staff and your information is securely stored.
For more information read our Privacy Policy here.
Questions
For any questions related to your medical records, call the practice or email records@stclairmedicalpractice.com
Policy Review
This policy will be reviewed regularly to ensure it remains current with operational, legal and accreditation requirements. Updates will be published on our website.
FAQs - Medical Records
I signed a medical records form at another practice. Why hasn’t my request been processed yet?
Signing a form at another practice does not automatically complete a valid request with St Clair Medical Practice.
St Clair Medical Practice is the custodian of your medical records and manages the process for the transfer of your records.
A request is only considered complete once identity and authorisation have been verified, and any applicable administrative fee has been paid.
Patients are advised not to rely on information about St Clair Medical Practice’s medical records process that is provided by other practices or third parties.
Information not provided directly by St Clair Medical Practice may be incomplete or inaccurate and may result in unnecessary delays in accessing medical information.
Why do I need to contact St Clair Medical Practice directly to request my records?
St Clair Medical Practice is the custodian of your medical records and is responsible for ensuring your information is released securely and in accordance with privacy legislation.
While another practice may provide you with a records request form, requests must be submitted directly to St Clair Medical Practice so that we can:
- verify identity and authorisation
- confirm consent
- confirm the correct record transfer type
- collect payment if requesting a full record transfer
Requests submitted via another practice may not meet our verification or payment requirements and may result in delays.
Can another medical practice request or speed up my records on my behalf?
No. Requests submitted by third parties, including other medical practices, cannot alter or expedite St Clair Medical Practice’s records-transfer process.
Requests for full medical records submitted via another practice, will not be complete or valid until any applicable fee has been paid. Even where a patient has signed a form elsewhere, it may not meet our verification, identification, and payment requirements.
All requests are processed in accordance with our Practice's process and statutory timeframes once the request is complete and payment (if applicable) has been received.
Why is there a fee for transferring medical records?
Under privacy legislation, medical practices are permitted to charge a reasonable administrative fee for providing copies of medical records.
Full medical record transfers require time to:
- extract and review records
- ensure accuracy and completeness
- apply privacy and security checks
- transfer files securely.
There is no fee for requesting a Health Summary.
Is St Clair Medical Practice closing? I’m worried about accessing my medical records.
No, St Clair Medical Practice is not closing.
We are aware that rumours and misinformation are currently circulating within the community, including suggestions that the practice may be closing. These statements are incorrect.
St Clair Medical Practice continues to operate and remains committed to managing patient records in accordance with legal and professional requirements. Patients can continue to request access to their medical records through our established Medical Records Transfer process.
Medical records are retained by St Clair Medical Practice for the full legal retention period, which is:
- 7 years from the date of last entry for adult patients, and
- until the patient turns 25 years of age for records relating to children.
These legal requirements ensure that patients are able to access their medical information in accordance with the law.
These obligations apply regardless of changes in staffing, patient movement between practices, or if a medical practice ceases operating.
If you would like more information about how your personal information is handled, please refer to our Privacy Policy.
If you have concerns about information you have heard, or if you are unsure about how to access your medical records, we strongly encourage you to contact us directly so we can provide accurate and up-to-date information.
What is a Health Summary, and when is it sufficient?
A Health Summary includes key clinical information such as:
- current medications
- medical conditions
- allergies
- immunisations
- recent investigation results.
For many patients, particularly those continuing care with the same GP at another practice, a Health Summary is sufficient for continuity of care and is provided free of charge.
If you require a particular item from your record, such as a specialist report or other specific correspondence we are very happy to provide this individually, now or at any point in the future, so that you can avoid paying for a full record transfer.
Additionally, through My Health Record you can access a digital summary of your health information including:
- Prescriptions & dispensed medicines
- Immunisation history
- Hospital discharge summaries
- Pathology and diagnostic imaging reports.
My Health Record allows you to:
- Share with providers - You can share your health information easily with doctors, hospitals, and other providers
- Faster access to results - Pathology and imaging reports become available quicker
- Manage your health information - Add notes, view history, and control privacy settings.
Our aim is to help patients avoid unnecessary costs. However, if you prefer a full record transfer, we will always provide one upon request.
Why can’t my records be emailed or placed on my own USB?
You may have been advised by another party or Practice to bring a USB and attend the practice for collection of your records.
For privacy and cybersecurity reasons patient supplied USB devices are not accepted. We can supply the USB if you would like your records to be saved to a USB drive.
Full medical records cannot be sent as email attachments due to their size. Medical records are transferred securely via approved file sharing methods once all requirements have been met.
I’ve been told something different about your records process. What should I do?
St Clair Medical Practice is aware that a significant amount of incorrect or inconsistent information is currently circulating within the community about our medical-records processes. This includes information provided by other practices, third parties, and informal sources such as social media or word-of-mouth.
To avoid confusion and unnecessary delays, patients should rely only on information provided directly by St Clair Medical Practice regarding medical record requests, fees, timeframes, and delivery methods.
Information obtained from other sources may be incomplete or inaccurate and may result in delays in accessing your medical information.
If you have concerns about information you have heard or received from another practice or if you are unsure about how to access your medical records, we encourage you to contact us directly so we can provide accurate and up-to-date guidance.
How long does it take to receive my medical records?
Once a complete request has been received (including verification and payment where applicable), records are processed within our standard timeframe and no later than the maximum period permitted under privacy legislation.
We always aim to complete requests as promptly as possible and within 30 days, particularly during periods of high demand.
Can I request medical records on behalf of someone else?
Yes, but only where you have been formally authorised to do so and your authority can be verified by St Clair Medical Practice.
Medical records can be released to:
- the patient themselves, or
- a person who has been formally authorised by the patient to act on their behalf, and whose identity and authority can be verified by our practice.
Examples of authorised persons may include:
- a parent or legal guardian for a child under the age of 16
- a court-appointed guardian
- a person holding power of attorney.
Being a spouse, family member, or support person does not automatically provide authority to request or receive medical records.
To request records on behalf of someone else, the request must be submitted directly to St Clair Medical Practice using our Medical Records Transfer Form. This allows us to verify consent, identity, and authority before releasing information.
Why can’t parents or guardians automatically access records for patients aged 16 and over?
From the age of 16, patients are generally considered capable of making their own decisions about their medical information.
For privacy reasons, St Clair Medical Practice can usually only release medical records for patients aged 16 years and over when:
- the request is made and signed by the patient themselves, or
- the request is made by a person who holds formal legal authority to act on the patient’s behalf (such as a court-appointed legal guardian, a person holding power of attorney, or the executor of an estate).
Being a parent, spouse, or family member does not automatically provide authority to access medical records for a patient aged 16 or over.
To reduce delays and ensure privacy and legal compliance, identity and authority verification, please use our Medical Records Transfer Form.
Why do you need to verify ID for medical records requests?
Medical records contain sensitive personal and health information.
Verifying identity and authorisation is a legal and professional requirement to ensure information is released only to the correct person.
Identity and authorisation are verified through our Medical Records Transfer Form, which requires consent details, signature and photo identification.
Requests submitted outside this process cannot be verified and may be delayed.
Have Questions?
If you have further questions or need assistance, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. We’re here to help you.
