Adult and Older Adult System of Care
Health Information Management Services (Medical Records)
Medical Records Retention
Client medical records are kept for a minimum of ten years prior to destruction. If you have not been seen by a County provider in the last 10 years, your records could possibly be destroyed.
Requests for Medical Records
Clients may request a copy of his or her medical record using a valid authorization. Requests for records may take up to 14 days to process.
Authorizations can be found here.
Client Requests for Access to Their Records
Use Form HHSA 23-01 to request a copy of records for yourself.
A fee of 20 cents per page may be applied.
Client Requests to Share Records
Use Form HHSA 23-09 to request records to be released to another party, e.g. another provider, Disability Office, Attorney, etc.
Completed Authorizations can be forwarded to:
County of San Diego
Health and
Human Services Agency
Behavioral Health Services, Health
Information Management Services
3851 Rosecrans Street
San
Diego, CA 92110
Fax: 619-399-3503
MS-P570
If you have questions, please contact Health Information Management
Services 619-692-5700, Option 3.
Hours of Operation:
Monday-Friday 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Subpoenas for Behavioral Health Records
Subpoenas for Behavioral Health Services records or court appearances must be personally served. The release of records or disclosure of client information will be subject to existing federal, state, and County regulations. Each subpoena will be evaluated according to the type of request, the program or service provided to the client, and whether or not the records are confidential, in which case they will not be released. Subpoenas can be served to the address above.
For administrative information or to provide feedback about this page, please send us an email or phone 619-692-5700 and press option #3 for Medical Records.
Not sure where to start?
Call the Access and Crisis Line (ACL) at 1-888-724-7240 to speak to an experienced counselor who can help find the right service for you or someone you care about. The ACL is operated 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with support available in over 200 languages. Live chat and other resources are available through the ACL website or up2sd.org.
If you are experiencing an emergency, please call 911.