Release of Records

The Occupational Health Program maintains employment related health records for students and employees of Baylor College of Medicine. You can log on to view a copy of your record. This requires that you are on Baylor network. If not, use this link for information on how to access MyOHP outside of the Baylor network.

If you are a patient of Baylor and need to request your records, OHP does not maintain these records. Requests should be sent to: ROI@bcm.edu or fax (713) 798-1464

If you are a former employee or student, you can submit a request using the release form below. We will contact you if there is fee associated with this. Typically, duplicate or multiple requests will be charged a fee.

Release of Medical Records form for Baylor College of Medicine students and employees

Completed forms for Baylor students and employees can be faxed to 713-798-3364 or emailed to ohp@bcm.edu. (Do not send the forms here if you are requesting records on a patient of BCM. Follow the instructions above.)

If you need records to go to a new employer, school, hospital credentials, etc., we strongly recommend that you receive the records from us and then provide them to that entity. Although we will send the records directly to them, once we have sent the records, we are finished with the request. There is little we can do if the receiving party says they did not receive them.

• Name of person whose records are to be released
• Signature of person, or their Legal Representative, whose information is to be released.
• Name of person or entity to whom information is to be released
• Instructions on how records should be delivered (e.g., mail, pickup, facsimile)
• Method to contact requestor if there are any questions
• Reason for requesting records

Additional information requested:

• Date of birth
• BCM ID #
• Approximate dates of employment
• Other names used by the employee

Name to whom released: This should be reasonably specific, either a specific individual's name or title (e.g., Director of Employee Health). The name can be that of an entity, rather than an individual as long as it is represents a department or group. Thus "ABC College Health Center" is acceptable rather than "ABC College." OHP does not typically release records to BCM departments, even with a signed authorization.

Instructions for release: Records can be sent via US Mail or facsimile. Alternatively, records can be picked up in person. OHP does not hand deliver records and expedited shipping (e.g., FedEx, Priority Mail) is not available.

Method to contact requestor: This helps answer questions we have if we are unclear about your request or helps to find your record.

Reason for request: OHP does not evaluate the merit of the reason for the request; the Texas Occupations Code requires this.

On average, 3-7 business days.

• Record requests are processed as quickly as possible.
• Because records are maintained in different locations and in different media, it is difficult to determine how long it will take to complete a request. Some requests are completed in two business days and some in ten business days
• If it becomes obvious that a request will be delayed, OHP will notify the requestor.
• The director of Occupational Health should be contacted if there is a medically urgent reason for an immediate release. 713–798–7880.
• Deadlines for fellowships, employment, immigration or travel are not considered emergencies.

• If the records are to be picked up, OHP will notify the requestor when they are ready.
• If a delay is anticipated in releasing the records (e.g., records cannot be found), OHP will contact the requestor.
• Records will be sent according to the instructions on the request. However, OHP strongly recommends that records be released to the requestor rather than to a third party.
• Why? View release of records information page.

• Records of employees are maintained for at least 30 years.
• Records of students are maintained for at least the duration of their enrollment.
• Records of visitors, observers and elective students are maintained for at least the duration of their stay.
• This retention practice can change in the future.

If you request your records from a health provider, you usually have the option for them to send records directly to us or to send the records to you. We recommend that they send the records to you and then you send the records to us.

This may seem to be more of a hassle, but please consider the following:

• Lost records are difficult to track down. If you request that your school or physician sends records directly to us and we indicate that we have not received them, then there is no way to know whether the problem is on our end or their end. If you send us the record, at least you will know when the records were sent to us. A typical clinic may release records within a day or a month, so there is no predicting when the records might arrive.
• Records from clinics often do not contain a cover letter (which makes it difficult for us to know why we are receiving these records). Records might be illegible, contain a misspelling, or have an old name on them. If you receive the records first, you have an opportunity to clarify the information.
• Regardless of whether you send us the records or a clinic sends us the records, we will devote our full attention to getting them processed.