State investigating closure of health clinic after patients tell FOX 35 they need medical records
KISSIMMEE, Fla. - FOX 35 News is investigating after we were told by patients of a recently closed Central Florida healthcare clinic that they were unable to retrieve their medical records.
The Central Florida Arthritis and Osteoporosis Center closed its doors on Nov. 1, but patients tell us they’re still waiting to get their records. They said they needed these documents in order to go get treatment with a new doctor. For some, this was the only facility that provided for their insurance.
Peter Lee’s father used the clinic to get Remicade infusions for his psoriatic arthritis. He’s worried his father won’t get the treatment. Brian Keck has low bone density and goes to the clinic for his yearly fusion. Both of them contacted FOX 35 after they found a sign on the door that read, "Please be advised the office is closed permanently. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused."
There’s a number that patients can call to request their medical records, but weeks later, Keck said he hadn’t received any calls or messages back letting him know their status.
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FOX 35’s Deborah Choe also called and got no response from the facility. FOX 35 has been working on getting answers for nearly three weeks.
Democratic Congressman Darren Soto, who represents the 9th Congressional District, was the only lawmaker to talk to FOX 35 about this situation. He told FOX 35, "It’s tragic, it puts seniors and others getting treatment at the facility in harm’s way."
However, that might not be the case much longer. FOX 35 received a response from the Florida Department of Health, which read, "The Department of Health and the Florida Board of Medicine is aware and taking the proper steps to address it."
You may not be one of the patients impacted by this situation, but there’s a takeaway for everyone. Board-certified Family Medicine Physician Doctor Matthew Sparks said this serves as a reminder to keep paper copies of your records or save records from an online portal to your desktop, but most importantly, have an updated medication list.
"If you have a current medication list, I can work off that. I can take those medications and pretty easily figure out what sort of medical problems you have, where are we, what are we treating," Dr. Sparks said.
Brian Keck said, moving forward, "When I do tests, I’m going to get a copy of them from now on. I mean, I didn’t think I’d ever have to worry about this."
If you are a patient at the clinic and need to get your records, the health department told FOX 35 you can file a complaint here.