Bugarin

Appellants Frank Bugarin and the law firm Mann & Cook filed a class action against respondent ChartOne, Inc., contending that fees charged by ChartOne for copying Bugarin’s medical records were excessive. The trial court sustained ChartOne’s demurrer to the original complaint without leave to amend. We affirm.

FACTS

According to the allegations of the complaint, which, for the purposes of the demurrer, we accept as true (5 Witkin, Cal. Procedure (4th ed. 1997) *1560 Pleading, § 903), Bugarin, “acting through his agent, plaintiff Mann & Cook, his lawyers, ordered copies of his medical records for use in his own excessive force lawsuit directly from his health care provider, Rancho Los Amigos Medical Center in the City of Downey, County of Los Angeles.”

ChartOne, who the complaint alleges is a “stranger” to appellants, contracts with health care providers (hereafter referred to as providers) for the exclusive franchise to manage and copy health care records generated by the providers. In the case of providers under contract with ChartOne, the only source for copies of medical records is ChartOne. When a provider receives a request for copies of health care records, the…

Appellants Frank Bugarin and the law firm Mann & Cook filed a class action against respondent ChartOne, Inc., contending that fees charged by ChartOne for copying Bugarin's medical records were excessive. The trial court sustained ChartOne's demurrer to the original complaint without leave to amend. We affirm.

According to the allegations of the complaint, which, for the purposes of the demurrer, we accept as true (5 Witkin, Cal. Procedure (4th ed. 1997) Pleading, § 903), Bugarin, "acting through his agent, plaintiff Mann & Cook, his lawyers, ordered copies of his medical records for use in his own excessive force lawsuit directly from his health care provider, Rancho Los Amigos Medical Center in the City of Downey, County of Los Angeles."

ChartOne, who the complaint alleges is a "stranger" to appellants, contracts with health care providers (hereafter referred to as providers) for the exclusive franchise to manage and copy health care records generated by the providers. In the case of providers under contract with ChartOne, the only source for copies of medical records is ChartOne. When a provider receives a request for copies of health care records, the provider…

I concur with the majority opinion, which I have signed, but wish to amplify the observation made by Justice Flier that the effect of our opinion unfortunately increases the cost of medical records to some patients, notwithstanding HIPAA’s intent to do just the opposite. The ruling today upholds the ability of copying services to charge higher rates when the attorney makes the request on behalf of his or her client than when the patient/client makes the request directly. That is, however, as far as the opinion goes. It does not address such presumably common scenarios in which the client signs the request and asks the documents to be sent to the attorney, or the attorney prepares the document on his or her letterhead and the client personally signs the request.

The above examples underscore for me the unintended effect of what purports to be consumer legislation; a resulting tension between a client’s ability to inexpensively obtain medical records and an attorney’s obligation to handle litigation effectively and efficiently for the client. There are no doubt instances in which a client’s interests would be better served by the delivery of important medical records directly to…