Releasing veterinary records to clients: rules and timelines

What are clients entitled to when they ask for records?

Clients are entitled to a copy of whatever part of the record they ask for, up to the whole thing. The CVO's guide is blunt about it: a veterinarian is required to provide a copy of the requested parts of the medical record to a client on request, including a copy of the complete record. It adds that the information in the record belongs to the client, who has the right to access it, while the clinic keeps the original.

So you hand over copies, never originals. The original paper or electronic record stays with the clinic for the CVO's retention period. The client can ask for the full record for any reason, and if they do, the full record goes out.

A request doesn't have to be in writing, either. Phone, email, fax, mail or in person all count. Radiographs are included when relevant: digital images can be copied, as long as the copies keep their image quality and can't be altered.

A phone call asking for records is a valid request. Log it with the date and time, because the two business day clock starts there.

How fast must records be released?

Within two business days. The CVO standard says clinics should respond within that time to requests from clients or veterinarians for complete records. In urgent cases, like an emergency, the guide says relevant information can be given verbally first, with the copy of the record to follow.

Releasing veterinary records to clients: what can you charge?

When releasing veterinary records to clients, you can charge a reasonable fee to cover the cost of making the copy, such as materials, staff time and courier or postage. But there are two strings attached. You have to tell the client about the fee in advance. And payment can't be a precondition: the client must be told the copy will come in a timely way whether they've paid or not.

The guide goes further. A veterinarian must not obstruct the efficient and timely release of information because of outstanding fees a client owes, and that includes refusing to pay for the copy itself. Chase the debt separately if you need to. Don't ever hold the record back to get paid.

An unpaid invoice is never a reason to hold records. That goes for an old balance and for the copy fee.

When you do not need the client's consent

Most releases go to the client, or to a vet the client has chosen. But the CVO guide lists cases where you don't need the client's consent, including:

• Another veterinarian asking in order to coordinate the patient's care, for the same client
• When required or authorized by law, including appropriate release to police, a provincial animal welfare inspector or animal control
• Reporting an animal bite or possible rabies exposure to the local Medical Officer of Health
• A previous owner asking for the part of the record created while they were the client
• A request from the CVO

When another vet asks, the guide says it isn't your job to check that the client consented. You can pause to confirm with the client only if you have reasonable grounds to think there's no consent, or that the client withdrew it. Even then, that call mustn't try to talk the client out of seeing another vet.

A release workflow for the front desk

A written routine means whoever picks up the phone handles it the same way:

1. Log the request: who asked, how, when, and what they want (the full record or a part).
2. Confirm the requester is the client on file, an authorized agent, or a vet acting for the client.
3. Mention any copy fee, and that they don't have to pay it first.
4. Pull the record together: notes, lab results, vaccine history, prescriptions, relevant images.
5. Send it securely, by a method you've agreed with the recipient.
6. Note the release in the chart, with the date, the recipient and what was sent.

Good software takes most of the legwork out. PetGrid's import and export lets a clinic approve a records transfer when an owner asks for one, and owners on the free app can share records themselves with any vet using a code that works for one day, as the client app page explains. Curious what inspectors look for in your charts? Read our guide to the veterinary medical records inspection.

Questions fréquentes

Lire les questions et réponses pour les cliniques

En bref

Releasing veterinary records to clients comes down to a few rules. Give them what they ask for, send a complete record within two business days, charge only a reasonable copy fee, and never hold records over money. Train the front desk on it once, and log every request.

To see how PetGrid handles record transfers and audit trails, have a look at our security page and book a demo.