Medical Record Requestor Frequently Asked Questions

ChartSwap is a fast, simple and secure business-to-business (B2B) record exchange platform – connecting a rapidly expanding network of requestors and providers. Our mission is to revolutionize the way personal health information (PHI) is transmitted, improving efficiency and reducing costs on both sides of the record retrieval process.

The ChartSwap platform simply and securely facilitates the exchange or transmission of healthcare and billing records by making the process fast and easy.

• A requestor (law firm, record retrieval vendor, insurer, etc.) uses ChartSwap to request records.
• If Digital Delivery is available for records from the chosen provider, the requestor is charged for digital delivery at the time of order submission, which is separate and distinct from the custodian fees from the provider.  
• The receiving provider reviews the request and determines whether it can provide the records.
• If the provider chooses to provide the records, it uploads them into the ChartSwap platform.
• After the provider uploads the records to ChartSwap, the requestor is notified of records being available to purchase.
• The requestor uses ChartSwap to pay the custodian fee and download the records.
• ChartSwap then transfers the custodian fee to the provider of the records.

• Search for a Provider: You can search by Billing Group, Hospital, or Facility, and remember simple searches work best.
• Enter Patient and Request Details: ‘Name,’ ‘Date of Birth,’ ‘Date or Range of Service’, as well as any comments you may have. This form is also where you’ll indicate whether or not you require an affidavit, deposition questions or other supporting documents.
• Upload Supporting Documents: Via our simple uploader tool, which acts a lot like attaching anything to an email. The most commonly uploaded document is a HIPAA authorization, but you can also attach additional materials such as a request letter, subpoena or blank affidavit questions.
• Click Submit: Your request is delivered electronically directed to the provider.

• The requestor can log in to ChartSwap, using their unique login credentials, and review the current request status notes. Providers will comment on their progress of completion, and that progress is represented in real-time to the requestor through the ChartSwap portal.
• Based on the average turnaround time of ChartSwap requests, we have found that most requestors do not even need status updates.

• The average provider turnaround time for ChartSwapped records is 7.5 days. Similar to the traditional records retrieval model, the turnaround time can vary from provider to provider.
• Our software tracks and measures turnaround time for each submitted request using reporting tools built into the platform. Our customer service team follows up on requests that exceed the expected turnaround times. If you need assistance with a particular request, email us at info@chartswap.com so that we can help.

All of our in-network providers set their own fees and determine whether or not to offer a rush option for incoming requests. Depending on the provider, you may or may not be able to pay an add-on Rush Fee to receive the requested records within an expedited timeframe.

• No, you can search for a Provider in ChartSwap by either Billing Group or Hospital/Facility.
• As a general tip for using ChartSwap’s Provider Search: Simple searches work best. If you can’t find a Provider but you know they should be in our system, try different or shorter search terms, for example: It might be easier to find Northern Ohio Emergency Physicians by simply searching “Northern Ohio” or “Ohio Emergency”. It might be easier to find The City of Houston EMS by instead searching “Houston EMS”.
• You can also search for a Provider by specific hospital or facility. For example: If you’re looking for “ER Physicians at Methodist West Houston – Katy,” you’ll have better results searching “Houston Methodist” or “Methodist Katy” or even just “Katy”. This facility is under the group “West Houston Emergency Physicians, PLLC” and could also be found by searching “Houston Emergency.”

• YES! To invite a provider to join ChartSwap, click on the Invite a New Providerlink from the My Favoritessection of the Home Screenand complete the listed fields and click the Invite
• The Provider will receive an email notifying them that you would like to request records If the Provider decides to sign up for ChartSwap, you will be able to make electronic requests in the future. Until the Provider signs up, however, please continue to send requests by mail or fax, but include the ChartSwap Instruction sheet in your correspondence.

Yes, ChartSwap meets HIPAA guidelines for compliance in our policies and technical safeguards. We built our software on the SalesForce.com platform, which is recognized as having a leading security infrastructure with world-class physical, administrative and technical security safeguards.

ChartSwap also has comprehensive information security and privacy policies. With advanced event monitoring, ChartSwap administrators receive detailed reports accounting for every action that occurs on the system.

For more information, please visit our Securitypage.

ChartSwap servers securely store a copy of the files temporarily, allowing requestors up to 90 days to download the records after they have purchased them. ChartSwap is not meant to be permanent storage, but only a means to transfer files from one entity to another.

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is intended to establish one single set of data protection and privacy rules across Europe.  The GDPR seeks to increase citizen awareness – in the EU and across the globe – of how and why their data is being used. The new law lays out sweeping changes regarding the rights of a “data subject,” or a citizen who has his or her data processed.

For instance, a data subject must be aware that their data is indeed being processed under the new law, and the legislation forces companies to articulate that fact in plain language, so there’s no room for misunderstanding.  Data subjects also have a right to know why the data is being processed, to have access to the information in question and to have the ability to have it erased. In addition, the GDPR forces companies to notify supervisory authorities of a data breach within 72 hours of the incident.

Citizens affected by the breach should be notified “without undue delay,” according to the regulation.  The GDPR applies to any company, located anywhere in the world, that processes the data of EU citizens. The legislation is not exclusive to the European Union.

When you sign up for a ChartSwap account, you’ll get a ‘Welcome’ email and a separate email with your temporary password. We use the temporary password to verify your email address before granting access to the site. You’ll then be able to create your own password for future use. If you didn’t get a temporary password email, be sure to check your spam folder.

If you do not receive a welcome email or a temporary password email, it’s possible that you’ve registered a different email address. In this case, please feel free to email us at info@chartswap.com .  If you forgot your password or need a new temporary password, you can enter your email address here.

First, make sure you’re logging in with the correct username. Your username is your email address. If your password still isn’t working, you’ll have to reset it and request a new temporary password be sent to your email address. You can request a new temporary password by clicking here.

The temporary password is a random jumble of letters, numbers and symbols. If you’re having trouble with your temporary password, sometimes using Copy + Paste command from the body of your email straight over to ChartSwap will do the trick. Temporary passwords are only good for one use, and you’ll be able to create your own password for future use before accessing the ChartSwap system.

Per our user agreement, ChartSwap charges requestors a Transaction Fee if requestor elects to use our service to deliver their requested records electronically. This fee is paid when the record is made available. Our service is always optional. The requestor can opt out and choose to have the records fulfilled through the traditional method of mailed records via the provider. In the case this option is chosen, the provider fees and invoice will still be issued through the ChartSwap software. Although payment is executed through the ChartSwap software, there will not be a ChartSwap Transaction Fee. The provider will mail records to the requestor once the payment has been received.

Per our user agreement, ChartSwap charges requesting parties a transaction fee, if the requestor elects to use our service to deliver their requested records electronically. This fee is paid when the request is submitted. Our Digital Delivery service is always optional. The requestor can choose to have the records fulfilled through the traditional method of mailed records via the provider. If this option is chosen, the provider fees and invoice will be issued through the ChartSwap platform. Although payment is processed through the ChartSwap platform, there will not be a ChartSwap transaction fee. The provider will mail records to the requestor once payment has been received. 

Custodian fees are entirely separate from the digital delivery fees. All custodian fees are set by the provider, within state-determined guidelines. All funds paid by requestors via our secure online payment platform are transferred directly to the provider. ChartSwap only acts as facilitator of the transaction. 

ChartSwap does not set the provider fees. ChartSwap is an agent of the requestor, not the provider. We can make recommendations based on our knowledge of the state statutes, but the provider is responsible for setting the fee schedule.

Most custodian fees are collected from the requesting party at the time the records download, although some custodian fees are due in advance. This is determined by the provider. Records are not released until payment is received and passed on to the provider. 

ChartSwap utilizes PayPal for easy, fast, and secure payment transactions. Checks can take anywhere from 5 to 10 business days from when a requestor sends to when we receive and apply the payment to the corresponding request. Making and receiving electronic payments can significantly reduce turnaround on your request fulfillments – as documents are usually made available to the requestor as soon as we receive a credit or debit card payment, which happens instantly.

However, requestors do not need to register a PayPal account to pay for records with a credit or debit card. Electronic payments can be made directly via our secure online payment platform, which is integrated with PayPal for a seamless and secure online billing system.