The letter arrived. Two hours later, the charts went out — and the payer paid.
A measured chart-retrieval run inside Long Island Ophthalmic Concepts: 72 records, a negotiated $62.50 fee, and a HIPAA-ready send from Teri Health.
72
charts requested
One retrieval letter. One batch.
$62.50
per record
Negotiated from $75 asked and $50 offered.
$4,500
invoiced
Dated July 22, 2026.
~2 hours
to pull the batch
Workflow automation, person in the loop on send.
The request
You already know this document.
A national payer’s retrieval vendor sends a multi-page chart list — often seventy or eighty patients — and asks the office to pull, copy, and return the records. Most practices treat it as unpaid busywork. The letter in this story asked for 72 charts.
Reference ID:
on behalf of
Medical Record Request: Patient List
Please contact within 7 days of receiving this request: or email:
Secure Online Submission: Username: Password:
Fax to: or
Traceable mail to:
Email to:
Electronic Medical Records: SFTP or Remote Download — contact representative
Onsite retrieval: Contact the representative listed on this request
Relevant Documents:
- Demographic / Face Sheet
- Progress Notes
- Hospital Records
- Consults / Referrals
- Diagnostics
- Medication & Problem List
- Lab / Pathology
- Operative Reports
- Immunizations
Required Dates of Service: January 1, 2025– Present
Total Charts Requested: 72
| File # | Provider Name | Member Last Name | Member First Name | DOB | Chart ID | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||||||
| 2 |
+ 70 additional charts on following pages
Reference ID:
Payer, vendor, and patient details are redacted. The rate, chart count, and turnaround are from a measured production run.
The fee most offices never bill
Did you know you can invoice these?
Chart retrieval is work. Payers and their vendors will often pay a per-chart fee. The founding practice asked $75. The payer offered $50. They met at $62.50. Seventy-two charts became a $4,500 invoice — dated July 22, 2026.
From
Founding specialty practice
Ophthalmology · two locations
Invoice
INV-2026-0722
July 22, 2026
Bill to
National payer — risk adjustment / chart retrieval
| Description | Qty | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medical record chart retrieval | 72 | $62.50 | $4,500.00 |
Due upon receipt
$4,500.00
Payer, vendor, and patient details are redacted. The rate, chart count, and turnaround are from a measured production run.
The negotiation
Meet in the middle. Then send the invoice.
The outreach manager asked to come down from the standard fee. The practice administrator held the middle. Once the rate was agreed, the updated invoice went out the same week.
Secure email · titles only
Risk Adjustment Outreach · Tue 12:32 PM Eastern
Our vendor has had trouble agreeing a fee for 72 charts. You asked $75/chart. Would you meet $50/chart?
Practice Administrator · Tue 5:11 PM Eastern
We typically hold the standard fee. If you meet in the middle at $62.50/chart, we can proceed.
Risk Adjustment Outreach · Wed 9:14 AM Eastern
Thank you for negotiating. Please send an updated invoice reflecting $62.50/chart so we can send it for approval.
Payer, vendor, and patient details are redacted. The rate, chart count, and turnaround are from a measured production run.
The pull
Seventy-two charts. About two hours.
The batch was pulled in about two hours with workflow automation — not an afternoon of someone sitting in the EHR. Teri matched patients, gathered charts, and assembled the packet. A person stayed in the loop on the send.
The send
HIPAA-ready fax and secure email, from the same platform.
The packet left Teri Health by HIPAA-ready fax or secure email. No USB drive. No personal inbox. Every action stays on the audit trail. That is the loop we now run in the founding practice.
The $62.50 is what the payer paid the practice. Teri's list rate to retrieve and review is $1.50 per record. Measured at Long Island Ophthalmic Concepts. A person reviewed the send.