How to Fax a Medical Records Release to Mount Sinai
The Mount Sinai Health System runs several hospitals across New York City, and each has its own Health Information Management process for releasing a patient's chart against a signed HIPAA authorization. Because the system is multi-hospital, the release has to reach the specific Mount Sinai facility that treated the patient. This guide covers what the authorization must include, how to find the correct facility's records fax number, and how to document that you sent it.
Does Mount Sinai accept a fax?
Yes — the Health Information Management office at a Mount Sinai hospital accepts a signed HIPAA authorization by fax to release a patient's records. A faxed release arrives as a fixed, dated request that the facility's medical-records staff can log against the patient's chart.
Finding the official fax number
Check the medical-records or Health Information Management page for the particular Mount Sinai hospital involved, or read the fax number off that facility's own authorization form. Because the Mount Sinai system spans multiple hospitals and the release contains protected health information, confirm the correct facility's current number before sending.
What to include on every page
- The patient's full name and date of birth as recorded at Mount Sinai
- The specific Mount Sinai hospital or clinic where care was given
- A description of the records and the date range being requested
- The patient's dated signature authorizing the release
How to fax Medical Records Release Authorization (HIPAA Authorization Form) to Mount Sinai
- 1Complete the HIPAA authorization, naming the Mount Sinai facility and the records wanted
- 2Have the patient or representative sign and date the release
- 3Confirm the records fax number for that specific Mount Sinai hospital
- 4Export the signed authorization as a legible, high-contrast PDF
- 5Log in to Send FAX Mail, upload the PDF, enter the confirmed fax number, and send
- 6Save the dated confirmation showing when the request reached that facility
Confirming it arrived
Send FAX Mail returns a dated delivery confirmation the instant the release reaches the facility's fax line — keep it with the signed authorization. If the records are delayed, reach out to that hospital's Health Information Management office and reference the confirmation as proof of when your request arrived.
What’s current · as of July 2026
- HIPAA large-breach reporting threshold
- 500+ individuals — reported to HHS OCR without unreasonable delay Source: HHS Office for Civil Rights
- HIPAA documentation retention period
- 6 years from creation or last-effective date Source: HHS — HIPAA Administrative Requirements (45 CFR 164.316)
Recent updates
Federal interoperability rules keep pushing healthcare past the fax machine
CMS has advanced a series of interoperability rules that press hospitals, payers, and providers toward electronic data exchange and standardized claims attachments. The direction of travel is clear: paper and analog fax workflows are being replaced by digital transmission that carries an auditable record — which is exactly what a cloud fax with delivery confirmation provides for offices not yet on a full EHR pipeline.
CMS →Healthcare breach reporting keeps document handling under scrutiny
Ongoing reporting on HIPAA breaches and OCR settlements underscores how much scrutiny falls on how medical documents are stored, sent, and received. Sending records through a controlled, access-logged channel rather than an unmanaged machine reduces the mishandling risks that show up repeatedly in breach analyses.
HIPAA Journal →HHS OCR continues enforcing HIPAA safeguards on how PHI is transmitted
The HHS Office for Civil Rights enforces the HIPAA Security Rule's requirement that covered entities apply administrative, physical, and technical safeguards to protected health information in transit. Faxing PHI is permitted, but the sending practice is responsible for confirming the destination and controlling access — the reason healthcare senders favor a channel that logs each transmission and its recipient.
HHS Office for Civil Rights →
Faxing Medical Records Release Authorization (HIPAA Authorization Form) to Mount Sinai — FAQ
The Mount Sinai Health System includes several hospitals across New York City, and each has its own Health Information Management process. Send the release to the medical-records office of the specific Mount Sinai hospital that treated the patient rather than to a shared system number.
Check the medical-records or Health Information Management page for the particular Mount Sinai hospital involved, or read the fax number off that facility's own authorization form. Because the release contains protected health information, confirm the current number before you send it.
A release usually stalls when the signature or date is blank, when the requested records aren't described, or when the patient's identifying details don't line up with the chart. Reviewing those fields before you fax prevents the request from being returned for correction.
Under federal rules a provider may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee for copies, so Mount Sinai can bill for fulfilling a records request depending on format and volume. Ask the handling office what applies; faxing the authorization itself through Send FAX Mail costs nothing beyond your $12.99/month plan.
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