How to obtain old medical records?

I would like to find out if anyone has any information on how to go about possibly obtaining copies of old medical records.

I want to find out when I was circumcised, who did it, and what method was used.

I was born in 1984, so I am currently 24, so I know there is a chance they have been completely destroyed, but if they have not I'd like any suggestions on how to get them.

I believe the procedure took place at St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Thanks for any help.

In the UK medical records are legally required to be kept for 7 years, however paediatric records are keep for much longer. As you say there is the possibility they may have been destroyed. What the legal requirements in the US are I don't know.

You make be lucky in the respect that each surgical proceedure is logged in a seperate log book. Stating the proceedure carried out, date and time, performed by whom and whether the proceedure went normally or any complications encountered.

I would suggest that you write to the hospital Administrator, explainng your reasons for wanting the information. You will probably need to produce several forms of identification, due to patient confidentiallity and Data Protection laws etc.

Hope this helps, let us know if your successful or not.

Cheers Smartalk

Call the hospital and talk to them. They may be able to pull it up by social. I had to call to figure out what time of the day I was born and the Hospital still held onto that information. Records are not generally destroyed.

if you've had the same family doctor over the years, or if you know who delivered you... contact his/her office. legally, you have to be provided access to your medical records. Old records may be in storage, so it might take time for the office or hospital to locate them.

During the '80s I was working for a health insurance company and may have some information.

Most records from that period are stored on microfilm so yes, it will take a while to find the right ones.

Hospitals differentiate the baby's records from the mother's right at birth. Your circumcision would have been recorded under your own name. The great majority of circumcisions were not done by the obstetricians, but by interns who worked for the hospital itself. This was the ordinary procedure in larger hospitals. Smaller facilities may not have had enough overworked, sleep-deprived interns to see to circumcisions so in that case, the obstetrician may have done the procedure.

Hospitals are allowed to charge you a reasonable fee for records retrieval. When you request your records, state your full name as it would have appeared on the hospital records (some babies aren't named until after they leave and so are referred to as something like, "male baby LASTNAME." You must also state explicitly which records you want. You may ask, for example, "every record pertaining to the birth and medical care of I, FIRST MIDDLE LASTNAME, while I was a patient there from EXACT DATE to EXACT DATE."

These are the guidelines for St. Vincent's:

How to obtain copies of Medical Records from St.Vincent Indianapolis, Carmel, or Women's Hospitals

A written authorization is required for the release of records. The authorization may be mailed or submitted in person Monday through Friday between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. to:

Health Information Management
Attn: Release of Information
St. Vincent Indianapolis Hospital
2001 West 86th Street
Indianapolis, Indiana 46260
Email Us


If the request is submitted in person, picture identification is required

The copying fees consist of a labor charge of $20.00 which includes the first ten (10) pages of records, 50¢ per page for pages 11-51 and 25¢ per page for pages 51 and greater. Other charges may apply for postage, stat requests or certifications.

(The facility must be specified, Indianapolis, Carmel, or Women's or state that records are being requested from all.)

Guidelines for signatures

1. The patient, if eighteen years of age or older, or, if under eighteen, is emancipated or married.
2. The guardian of a patient in a minority (i.e., under eighteen years of age) if legally appointed. Proof of guardianship is required.
3. The parent having custody of the patient, if the patient is under eighteen years of age, is unmarried, and is under parental control.
4. If a person is under eighteen years of age, is unmarried and is not in the custody of a parent or legal guardian and is a neglected child, then by the agency of which the child has been made a ward of the Juvenile Court.
5. If the patient is found incompetent for a reason or reasons other than minority, then by the court-appointed guardian; or, if he has been committed to an institution, then by the superintendent of such institution;
6. The personal representative (executor or administrator) of the deceased patient’s estate; or, if there is no personal representative, the spouse, or if none, an adult child.
7. The appointed health care representative, provided that evidence of such appointment is received which describes the personal representative’s authority to act for the individual.

NOTE: If information concerns a minor treated primarily for drug and/or alcohol abuse, consent need only be given by the minor.

This is a copy of St.Vincent's Release of Information Form. You will want to complete it and mail it with your request.

This is a private message that I received regarding this post. If someone has something to say that is related to a specific post I make, please post it in the actual thread so everyon on the board can see it.

If you want to sue the doctor or the hospital, be aware it isn't easy. If you're interested in that, however, please PM me and I will provide you with contact information for an intactavist lawyer who can help you determine what you can and cannot do.