Request Medical Records

Information for Law Enforcement

Law enforcement officials may obtain a patient's protected health care information (PHI) in the following circumstances:

Learn more about obtaining health care information (PDF)

Instructions for Law Enforcement Officials to Request Protected Health Information (PHI) 

  1. If you are requesting a copy of PHI, fax the Law Enforcement Official Initiated Request Form (PDF download) to the hospital's health information services correspondence staff at the number listed on the top left of the form. If you are requesting PHI verbally from a health care provider, call the hospital’s main number and ask to be connected to the unit the patient is located on.  
  2. Inform the unit secretary that you wish to fax a form requesting information on a patient; ask for the fax number and the name of the unit manager or designee to identify who to address the form to. Include your contact phone number. 
  3. Once the completed form is received, the unit manager or designee will notify the attending physician of the patient about your request for information. The attending physician will contact you at the contact number provided on the form. There may be a delay in the response to the request based on the clinical situation of the patient at the time of the request. 
  4. If you require an update on the status of your request for medical records, contact the hospital's health information services correspondence staff at the number listed on the top left of the form.  
  5. If you require an update on the state of your request for PHI, contact the unit secretary on the patient’s unit.

Resources for Law Enforcement

Download these PDFs.

Law Enforcement Official Initiated Request Form

How to Obtain Health Care Information

Brown University Health Summary of Privacy Practices