My guess is that it's unethical for them to withhold your records.  
It's probably ok for them to charge you a reasonable copy charge,
unless you paid for them already as a part of your past billings.  In
any case, contact these people for the whole story:

Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine
10 West St., 3rd Floor
Boston, MA 02111
(617) 727-3086 / Fax:(617) 451-9568
(800) 377-0550

[wants new dr to xfer files for free to newer dr]

<snip>

Barring some MA law, you do not have any 'right' to force Dr. B into
transferring  a copy of your medical records without charge. You can
request a full copy of your file sent to whoever you choose, but the
copying and perhaps some transfer fee, is appropriate. That your
original doc did not charge for the transfer isn't relevant to your case.

I'm unclear if a lawyer will help you aside from a general threat which
may terrorize Dr. B into the free transfer. You should really examine
the cost of a lawyer vs. just paying the demanded fee.

-paul
ianal

I'm not an expert on anything, but I've dug up some resources that will
answer some of your questions.  The records belong to the organization
that prepared them; this link explains why:

http://law.enotes.com/everyday-law-encyclopedia/89984

In your shoes I would
1. Be certain the Mass hospital doesn't still have a copy.
2. If not, visit your new doctor and ask them to request your medical
records from your current doc.  They're likely to get a lot less static
than you're getting.

Your Medical Record Rights in New York
http://hpi.georgetown.edu/privacy/stateguides/ny/nyguide.html

(Scroll down and click on the "to next section" link -- I was confused
and missed this at first)

Your Medical Record Rights in Massachusetts
http://hpi.georgetown.edu/privacy/stateguides/ma/maguide.html

Pickin's were slim for Connecticut.  The pertinent part is copied below
the link:

http://www.ct.gov/opapd/cwp/view.asp?a=1756&Q=277258&opapdPNavCtr=%7C#HEALTHCARE
_PROVIDERS

HOW DO I OBTAIN ACCESS TO MY RECORDS FROM A HEALTH CARE PROVIDER?
We advise you to make the request in writing to the provider. Once you
make the request a provider is required to supply to you complete and
current information concerning your diagnosis, treatment and prognosis.
Such information shall also be supplied any person you designate as
your representative. You may request and receive this information
orally. If you want a copy of your record, the request must be in
writing. In furnishing a copy of the health record, the provider can
not charge more than 45 cents per page and the cost of first class
postage, if applicable. There are provisions for waiving the fee if you
are considered indigent.

CAN THE HEALTH CARE PROVIDER DENY MY REQUEST?
Your request may be denied if the provider determines:

the information is detrimental to your physical or mental health; or
is likely to cause you to harm yourself or another, the information may
be withheld.
However, the information may be supplied to an appropriate third party
or to another provider who may release the information to you.

CAN I APPEAL THE PROVIDER'S REFUSAL TO DISCLOSE MY RECORD?
Yes. If disclosure is denied by a provider, you may, within 30 days of
the refusal, petition the court for an order of disclosure. The court
after a hearing and a private review, will order disclosure unless it
determines that disclosure would be detrimental to your physical or
mental health or is likely to cause you to harm yourself or another.
We urge you to contact an attorney prior to initiating any appeal of
this kind.

HOW DO I OBTAIN ACCESS TO MY RECORDS FROM A HEALTH CARE PROVIDER?
We advise you to make the request in writing to the provider. Once you
make the request a provider is required to supply to you complete and
current information concerning your diagnosis, treatment and prognosis.
Such information shall also be supplied any person you designate as
your representative. You may request and receive this information
orally. If you want a copy of your record, the request must be in
writing. In furnishing a copy of the health record, the provider can
not charge more than 45 cents per page and the cost of first class
postage, if applicable. There are provisions for waiving the fee if you
are considered indigent.

CAN THE HEALTH CARE PROVIDER DENY MY REQUEST?
Your request may be denied if the provider determines:

the information is detrimental to your physical or mental health; or
is likely to cause you to harm yourself or another, the information may
be withheld.
However, the information may be supplied to an appropriate third party
or to another provider who may release the information to you.

CAN I APPEAL THE PROVIDER'S REFUSAL TO DISCLOSE MY RECORD?
Yes. If disclosure is denied by a provider, you may, within 30 days of
the refusal, petition the court for an order of disclosure. The court
after a hearing and a private review, will order disclosure unless it
determines that disclosure would be detrimental to your physical or
mental health or is likely to cause you to harm yourself or another.
We urge you to contact an attorney prior to initiating any appeal of
this kind.

Good luck.

--Patti

Pursuant to HIPAA, you are the one in control of release of the
_information_ in those records.   But if you're asking about the
original records themselves, the doctor's office usually retains
custody of those, even if you switch to another doctor.   They would
copy, with your permission, the material in the file and send it to
whomever you designate.   If local law permits them to charge a copying
fee for this, they probably will.   Most doctors, at least here in MD,
will give a copy of the record to the patient himself for that purpose
without charge even if they charge for copies that go to a lawyer or
insurance company or another doctor.    You'd have to ask a CT lawyer
what the rule is there.

If you're talking about ownership of the actual media on which the
records are stored, why wouldn't those belong to the doctor who created
them?   It's his paper, his ink, his xray film, his electricity, his
computer disks that he used to create them and that they're stored on.
 You as the patient are entitled to full access to the information
they contain, but he's also entitled to keep the materials he actually
created in the course of his practice.    If there are some papers in
the file that _you_ actually provided to the doctor in original form,
he should return those to you, but he is entitled to keep a copy of
those materials you provided.

<History of the situation snipped>

Dr. B's office has to retain the originals because Dr. A gave them that
responsibility when he closed his practice.  They need to be able to
show what was, and wasn't, in your original records if the need should
ever arise as evidence in a legal matter, or to copy them to other
doctors, and presumably the information in them can be adequately and
completely passed on by copying the file (or the relevant portion of
it) to the new recipient.

He does have a need for it.   If you sue him, or Dr. A, for
malpractice, he will want to retain the original records as evidence,
and IMO the law will not make him give them up unless CT has a
provision that overrides HIPAA that would make him do so.

That's not a direct analogy.  The only reason doctor B got the
originals instead of a copy is because Doctor A closed his practice and
made Doctor B the official repository of Dr. A's original records.
Those records originally belonged to Dr. A, and if Dr. A were still in
practice, Dr. A is the one who would retain the originals and would
make copies for any authorized person who needed them, including you.

I don't usually tell people _not_ to consult a lawyer, and you are
certainly welcome to do so, but I can't see yet what the problem is.
If you get good, clear copies of your entire file, which you can verify
if need be by actually looking at the originals and comparing them (a
tedious task, but doable) then why would you need the originals?    If
Dr. B persists in hiding the _information_ from you by refusing to
provide clear copies and/or by refusing to let you compare the copies
with the originals while visiting in Dr. B's office, then by all means
your rights have been violated and you should consult a lawyer to
discuss your available remedies.   Good luck,

--
This posting is for discussion purposes, not professional advice.
Anything you post on this Newsgroup is public information.
I am not your lawyer, and you are not my client in any specific legal
matter.
For confidential professional advice, consult your own lawyer in a
private communication.
Mike Jacobs
LAW OFFICE OF W. MICHAEL JACOBS
10440 Little Patuxent Pkwy #300
Columbia, MD 21044
(tel) 410-740-5685      (fax) 410-740-4300

[OP wants to get all his medical records in the custody of a particular
doctor, but the doctor's staff won't release outside records, claiming
that they can only release records they generated].

The federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
is both the culprit and the possible rescuer here.  Since its effective
date in 2004, medical service providers have been cautious about
releasing medical records.  Some will voluntarily release all records
in their custody.  Others will voluntarily release only records they
generated, regardless of what the patient's signed authorization says.

Regardless of what the doctor's staff believes, you do have the right
to a copy of your medical records in their custody.  45 CFR
164.524(a)(1).  You must pay a "reasonable, cost-based fee" for copying
and shipping the records.  45 CFR 164.524(c)(4).

You can read about your rights under HIPAA here:

http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_05/45cfr164_05.html

You may need a lawyer, but maybe not.  If you politely explain your
rights to the records clerk (don't waste your time with the
receptionist) and back them up with the information from the web site
above, you might get what you want.  I recommend being polite and
business-like.  Medical providers deal with rude patients all day long.