Tacoma, Wash.-based MultiCare Health System has been hit with a lawsuit claiming it employs a vendor that is charging an excessive amount for providing patients with copies of their medical records, according to The News Tribune.
Lawyers representing the plaintiff are seeking class-action status for the lawsuit, according to the report. The vendor named in the suit is IOD, Inc.
The lawsuit alleges the amount IOD charges patients for copies of their records is an amount in excess of what federal regulations allow. IOD "has blatantly disregarded those regulations and continued to charge excess amounts for the records to 'deliver a competitive advantage' for its client, MultiCare," the lawsuit states, according to the report.
MultiCare is going to let the courts settle this dispute. Maura Hallam, a system spokeswoman, told The News Tribune, "The question turns on the interpretation of a federal regulation. We will ask the federal court to decide whose interpretation is correct."
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