Chicago woman says she is cut off from her medical records after practice closes down
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A medical office on Michigan Avenue downtown has a lock on the door and no one inside—and patients can't get to their medical records.
One Chicago woman reached out to CBS News Chicago on this subject for answers. So far, despite several requests, Cathy Link has not been able to get a hold of her medical records to send to her new doctors.
So what happens to those electronic records—and what can a patient do?
The medical office belongs to Forward, a concierge medical practice that describes itself as tech-forward. The operation launched nearly a decade ago. Forward's own promotional videos tout Ai-driven health care where diagnostics, body scans blood test are available at a patient's fingertips.
The San Francisco-based Forward was valued at $1 billion in 2021, and available in big cities across the country—including Chicago, where patients who spoke to CBS News Chicago said they love it.
"To get the appointment was easy—easy in, easy out, no wait," said Markus Volz.
"I, you know, absolutely fell in love with my primary care physician, was just wonderful," said Link.
That was until Volz, Link, and numerous others received a message out of the blue last week, saying Forward would be closing all locations, canceling all visits, and immediately shutting down access to its app.
"I read the email and my heart just dropped," Link said.
"Now I have to look for another doctor, I guess," Volz said.
Fortunately, Volz patient promptly received a copy of his medical records.
"I haven't checked the content exact, but I got it," he said.
But Chicago patient Link said her requests for her medical records have been ignored.
"It's been silence from them. I haven't heard anything back," Link said. "The numbers are all disconnected."
Dr. Peter Winkelstein, executive director of the Institute for Healthcare Informatics at University at Buffalo, was sympathetic to patients like Link.
"If the company goes out of business, or if the company is sold and somebody else acquires it, it makes you feel like, 'Maybe I'm losing control of my own data,'" he said.
Winkelstein explained the company will likely be subject to several state and federal laws and is required to maintain the records for several years.
"You need to provide them in a reasonable period of time," he said.
On Tuesday, Adrian Aoun, the founder and chief executive officer of Forward, responded to CBS News Chicago's questions about medical records by saying the company will be providing instructions after Dec. 13.
This seems to contradict the instructions currently posted on the company's website—which say that Forward is committed to helping patients navigate their care transitions, and that while the Forward app has been cut off, the Forward medical team is available by email until Dec. 13.
Whatever the case, Link says her future care is in limbo.
"I could access my own information via the app. But now what, has happened to it all, you know?" she said. "And how will that affect, you know, not just myself, but any other members?"
Aoun said he could not comment on Link's specific case for patient privacy reasons, but he said Forward is working through support requests as quickly as possible.
Forward said it will ensure patients' medical records are maintained in accordance with the law.
A message on Forward's website acknowledges the immediate closure of locations and the news being abrupt.
The State of Illinois said medical providers are supposed to provide 30 days' notice and explain how medical records can be obtained.
The American Medical Association has an article about obtaining medical records from closed practices. The American Health Information Management Association also noted that state laws usually have medical retention records for doctors—and require steps such as notifying a patient before or upon a practice closing.
AHIMA advised that it is helpful to know specifically when a medical practice closed—whether recently or many years ago. Records that are about 10 years from the last documented encounter with a practice may be destroyed, and some states allow records to be destroyed even sooner, AHIMA said.
Patients should refer to the letter they received notifying them of a practice closing and contact the designated records custodian. Updates on how to obtain may also be posted to a medical practice's website or social media page.
State attorney general's offices and public health departments may also be used as resources for support. If nothing else works out for patients looking for records from a closed facility, patients may file a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
