The answer is almost always a shocking number. Most Americans have hundreds of medical records scattered across dozens of systems — and their current doctor can see less than a third of them.
The US healthcare system is fragmented by design. Every visit, test, and prescription you've ever had created a record somewhere — but those records don't automatically follow you.
Under federal law — the 21st Century Cures Act and the CMS Patient Access API mandate — every American has the right to electronic access to their own medical records. Most people don't know this.
Your health insurance company has paid for every doctor visit, lab test, and prescription covered under your plan. They have a comprehensive record of your care that often exceeds what any single doctor has. Log into your insurer's patient portal and look for "Health Records," "My Care," or "Claims History." What you find will probably surprise you.
You have a legal right to a copy of your records from any US healthcare provider, by law. Call the medical records department of each doctor, hospital, or clinic you've used in the past decade and request a copy. Most will send them electronically within 30 days at no charge.
Before seeing a new doctor — or even your existing doctor for a significant visit — gather what you can and bring a summary. Even a basic one-page overview of major diagnoses, current medications, and recent tests helps your doctor make better decisions and avoid repeating work already done.
A growing number of practices now partner with services that consolidate patient records from multiple sources automatically. These services are typically provided at no cost to the patient. If record fragmentation is affecting your care, ask your doctor whether they offer or plan to offer any such service.
As of January 2026, every major US health insurer must report to CMS on how many patients actually use their records access. The federal government is actively pushing for higher utilization — and transparency around the insurers that aren't delivering.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized the Interoperability and Prior Authorization Rule (CMS-0057-F) in January 2024. Building on the 2020 Patient Access Rule (CMS-9115-F), it requires every Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, CHIP, and ACA marketplace insurer to expose patient-facing data APIs and — critically — to measure and publicly report whether patients are actually using them.
The first usage metrics are due to CMS by March 31, 2026, covering calendar year 2025. Some state programs have already reported zero users. The pressure to drive utilization up is now on the insurers themselves — and consumer tools like this one exist to help patients exercise rights they didn't know they had.