Home Medical Records FAQ

Medical Records FAQ

My Duke Health allows you to manage and receive information about your health online. For example, you can schedule and cancel medical appointments, view test results, office visit summaries, medications, and immunizations, pay your bill, and communicate with your care team.

For a complete copy of your medical records, you may submit a medical records request through My Duke Health. You should do this when you need your medical records sent to a third party such as another healthcare provider or organization that cannot access your records through a health information exchange network, a lawyer, or an insurance company. 

Read the frequently asked questions and answers below to learn more about accessing your health information maintained by Duke Health.

Accessing Your Medical Records

You can view and download most, but not all of the information related to care delivered by your Duke Health providers directly through My Duke Health without submitting a separate records request. Examples of information available through My Duke Health include: after-visit summaries, test and imaging results, medication lists, allergies, immunization records, health conditions, parts of provider documentation, and messages with your care team.

To access all of your medical records, you must submit a separate medical records request through My Duke Health.

 

Not necessarily. You can access commonly requested information directly through My Duke Health, including test and imaging results, after-visit summaries, medication lists, immunization records, and portions of your medical record.

Submit a medical records request if you need:

  • A complete copy of your medical record.
  • Records sent to another healthcare provider or organization that cannot access your records through a health information exchange network.
  • Records sent to an attorney or insurance company.
  • Records from a specific date range.
  • Records in a particular format.

You have a right to access your information maintained in Duke Health’s Designated Record Set. The Designated Record Set includes your medical records, billing records, and other information used by Duke Health to make decisions about you. 

Examples of information that is not part of the Designated Record Set include audit trails, metadata, user activity logs, system access logs, security monitoring records, internal quality assessment, compliance, and patient safety activity records, internal administrative records, and technical or operational system records. These records are maintained to operate, secure, audit, or monitor Duke Health’s systems and are not used to make decisions about your care or billing.

You have a right to access your information maintained in Duke Health’s Designated Record Set. The Designated Record Set includes your medical records, billing records, and other information used by Duke Health to make decisions about you. Information such as audit trails, metadata, and system access logs is not considered part of the Designated Record Set.

Duke Health does not prepare timelines or analyses of patient records or otherwise create information that is not part of Duke Health’s Designated Record Set. The Designated Record Set includes your medical records, billing records, enrollment/claims records, and other information used by Duke Health to make decisions about you.

You can request your medical records through My Duke Health by completing and submitting a Duke Health Authorization for Release of Information form English (PDF, 800 KB) and Spanish (PDF, 667 KB). Use the same form for attorneys, warrants, subpoenas, and other third-party, HIPAA-compliant requests.

The completed form must be sent to Duke via email (ROI-Requestor3@dm.duke.edu), fax (919-620-5165), OR it can be mailed to:

Release of Information
Duke University Health System
Box 3016
Durham, NC 27710

View the instructions for completing the authorization form (PDF, 594 KB)

Complete all required sections of the authorization form, sign and date the form, provide identification when required, and clearly identify the records you are requesting. This includes dates of service, provider or clinic name, and where the records should be sent.

Yes, in 3 situations: 

  • A parent or legal guardian can access a child's records. 
  • An adult can grant access to another adult. 
  • A legal guardian can have access to another adult's My Duke Health if named in the patient's advance directive or in other legal documents.

Viewing and Downloading Medical Records After Delivery

Records delivered through My Duke Health are available for download for 90 days after they are received. After 90 days, the records will no longer be available through the download link.

Yes. We recommend downloading and saving your records to a secure location, such as a password-protected computer, encrypted storage device, or another secure method. Saving a copy ensures you can access your records later without needing to submit another request.

If you do not download your records within 90 days, they will no longer be available through My Duke Health. You may need to submit a new medical records request to receive another copy of your records.

If you select email as the method of delivery, the email may come from our vendor Sharecare. Please look for email address do-not-reply@hdsmail.sharecare.com. To access and download records, you will need the request ID provided to you by ShareCare.

If you believe information was missing or that there is an error in your records, please contact Duke Health Information Management for assistance with your request. Phone: (919) 684-1700.

Requesting an Accounting of Disclosures

You may request an accounting of certain disclosures of your protected health information (PHI) made by Duke Health in the 6 years before the date of your request, or for a shorter time period if requested.

An accounting generally includes the date of the disclosure, the name of the person or organization that received the information and address if known, a brief description of the protected health information disclosed, and a brief statement of the purpose of the disclosure or a copy of the written request when applicable.

Complete this form (PDF, 197 KB) to request an accounting of disclosures and mail it to: DUHS Privacy Office, Box 3162, Durham, NC 27710

No. An accounting of disclosures provides information about certain disclosures of your information. It is not a list of every person who accessed your chart, viewed your record, or participated in your care. HIPAA excludes certain disclosures from the accounting requirement. Examples of excluded disclosures are:

  • for treatment, payment and health care operations
  • disclosures made to you
  • disclosures made with your authorization
  • facility directory or care-involvement disclosures
  • disclosures incidental to Duke Health’s appropriate use or disclosure of your information
  • certain national security, correctional institution, law enforcement, and limited data set disclosures
This page was medically reviewed on 10/27/2026
Support Duke Health research or honor a loved one with a tribute gift.