Medical Records

Your medical records do not contain Billing Statements, our Patient Financial Services department maintains that information. Patient Financial Services phone number is 828-835-7600.

Patients, or their personal representative, may inspect or obtain copies of their Erlanger Western Carolina Hospital medical records or have copies sent to another medical facility by following these instructions:

Provide a copy of photo ID such as valid driver’s license, military ID, or state-issued ID.

To inspect or request a copy of medical records, please print and complete the following documents:

Authorization for Release of Medical Information

Patient Request for Access to Health Information

Guidelines for eMail with Patients

In completing the authorization form, please indicate the dates of treatment for which you are requesting information.  You will also need to indicate the type of records you need.

While many patients request their entire medical record, our experience has shown that the summary information in documents such as Discharge Summaries, Operative Reports, and History and Physicals contain the information that most people are seeking. If you are not sure what information you need from your records, please contact us at 828-835-7595. If you are requesting Radiology Images, they are not part of your medical record. Your official records contain the reports that interpret those images. Copies of the Radiology images may be obtained by contacting the Radiology department at 828-835-7540.

Once the authorization form has been completed, you have three options for submitting to Health Information:

• Bring the form to the lobby desk at Erlanger Western Carolina Hospital, 3990 US Hwy 64 E Alt during the hours of 8AM and 4PM, Monday through Friday, except holidays.
• Mail the form to Erlanger Western Carolina Hospital, 3990 US Hwy 64E Alt, Murphy, NC 28906 to the attention of Health Information, Release of Information.
• Fax the form to 828-835-3651.

You may inspect/view records within the Health Information (Medical Records) Department at the medical center. There may be a reproduction charge for creating a copy of your records. 

Please allow up to 30 days for your request to be processed. If records are not being sent to a provider, they will be mailed to the address provided on the Patient Request for Access to Health Information form. If requesting records on behalf of a patient who cannot authorize, please also complete the relevant section on the Authorization for Release of Medical Information form.

Definitions regarding release of information: A Hospital Summary includes a summary of typed reports as listed below. This is not an all-inclusive listing.

• Discharge Summary
• History and Physical
• Consults
• Emergency Department Physician Record
• Operative Reports
• Pathology Reports
• Laboratory Reports
• Radiology Reports
• EKG
• Echocardiogram

Authorized Representative is a guardian, parent, or healthcare agent. Example: Legal documents that support the release of medical information to an authorized representative are:

• Healthcare Power of Attorney
• Power of Attorney
• Death Certificate
• Executor of Estate documents