How to get your medical records from Cedars-Sinai

Option 1: My CS-Link (fastest, free)

Cedars-Sinai runs on Epic, and My CS-Link is its portal. The request path, which works when you sign in online and not in the app: Menu, then the Sharing section, then Sharing Hub, then Yourself, then Request a formal copy. Pick the location, complete the form, and submit. You get a notification when the records are released to your portal, within 5 to 7 days.

One gotcha worth knowing in advance: fulfilled records post as PDF files and expire after 30 days. Download them when they arrive.

Option 2: Form 2034

The paper path is the Authorization for Use or Disclosure of Health Information, form 2034, also available on the request page in Spanish, Farsi, Russian, Arabic, Korean, and Chinese. The form covers more than the chart: checkboxes include the billing record and an X-ray film / images CD. Sign it; unsigned forms cannot be processed. The authorization expires 180 days after signing unless you specify otherwise.

The signed form goes to the Health Information Department:

• Mail: Release of Information, Health Information Department (Medical Records), Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, 8700 Beverly Blvd., Room 2800, Los Angeles, CA 90048
• Fax: 310-423-0113
• Email: GroupHIDInternetInquiries@cshs.org

Mailed and faxed requests are processed within 5 to 7 business days. Copies can be mailed to you or picked up at the office, Monday through Friday, 8:00 to 4:30.

Option 3: Phone / in person

The Health Information Department answers at 310-423-2259, Monday through Friday, 8:00 to 4:30 Pacific. Requests are handled in-house; no outside release-of-information vendor sits in the loop.

Fees

Cedars-Sinai's live wording is short: records sent by email or through the patient portal are free of charge, and paper copies carry a per-page fee. No dollar schedule is published. The state cap is California Health and Safety Code 123110: $0.25 per page for patient copies, with copies due within 15 days of a written request. Federally, HIPAA permits only a reasonable, cost-based fee. Form 2034 separately cites Evidence Code sections 1560-1567, the schedule for subpoenas and third-party requests, not for your own copies.

How long it takes

Portal requests arrive in My CS-Link within 5 to 7 days, and mail or fax requests are processed within 5 to 7 business days. California's 15-day copy clock and HIPAA's 30-day cap, 45 CFR 164.524, sit behind those numbers. If day 31 passes with silence, file a complaint with the HHS Office for Civil Rights.

Getting a family member's records

Cedars-Sinai's Proxy Access and Authorization Form defines four tiers, and the age boundaries are sharp:

• Children 0 to 11: full proxy access, which ends entirely the day before the 12th birthday. It switches to no access, not to a reduced view, and teen proxy must be requested separately.
• Teens 12 to 17: limited proxy under California's confidentiality law for minors. No medical notes or test results; upcoming visits and messaging providers on the teen's behalf are allowed. All access is revoked the day before the 18th birthday.
• Adults: the patient consents on the same form, and the proxy gets access to the full My CS-Link record. The proxy needs their own My CS-Link account, plus photo ID or legal documents.
• A patient without decision-making capacity: the permanent legal guardian consents, and the patient's physician completes the form's certification section.

Completed forms go to the patient's physician office or primary care doctor, or to the Health Information Department. Proxy access has different rules and names at every organization. The full guide: MyChart proxy access for a family member.

Which Cedars-Sinai?

• Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center is a separate Providence facility with its own records process. If you were treated in Tarzana, this page's addresses do not apply.
• X-ray films have two paths: the images-CD checkbox on form 2034, or the S. Mark Taper Foundation Imaging Center directly at 310-423-8000, option 2.
• Private physician office records are not kept by the hospital; call the doctor's office.
• Retention: adult records are kept 15 years, labor and delivery records 25 years, and records of patients 18 or younger at treatment 25 years.

FAQ