23-12-14. Copies of medical records and medical bills

23-12-14. Copies of medical records and medical bills 1. As used in this section, "health care provider" means a licensed individual or licensed facility providing health care services. Upon the request of a health care provider's patient or any person authorized by a patient, the provider shall provide a free copy of a patient's health care records to a health care provider designated by the patient or the person authorized by the patient if the records are requested for the purpose of transferring that patient's health care to another health care provider for the continuation of treatment. 2. Except as provided in subsection 1, upon the request for medical records or medical bills with the signed authorization of the patient, the health care provider shall provide medical records and any associated medical bills either in paper or facsimile format at a charge of no more than twenty dollars for the first twenty-five pages and seventy-five cents per page after twenty-five pages or in an electronic, digital, or other computerized format at a charge of thirty dollars for the first twenty-five pages and twenty-five cents per page after twenty-five pages. This charge includes any administration fee, retrieval fee, and postage expense.