DEAR DR. ROACH: I’ve decided that it’s time for me to find a new primary care doctor. My biggest concern is access to my medical records. I currently have access to a patient portal to request doctor appointments or prescription renewals and review test results. Since the health care providers in my area use different portals, I need to know if I’ll have access to my past records. More importantly, will my new physician have access to my CAT scans, doctor’s notes, and other information that I’m not privy to through the patient portal?

In the past, I know I could request that “paper” copies of my records be sent to my new doctor. I’m not sure if this would be a feasible option in this digital age. I’m hoping that there’s a federal or state law that would require health care providers to release this information in a manageable way. Your answer will greatly impact which new primary care physician I’ll choose. — J.K.

ANSWER: The federal law that regulates the release of medical information is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). The main goal of HIPAA is more about protecting your privacy than facilitating the release of information, but it does allow physicians to share information under certain circumstances without your explicit consent.

In general, you’ll still likely have access to your electronic medical records, even if you’re no longer seeking care at a certain health care system. Furthermore, you should have access to your labs, imaging results, and even physician notes. (My patients usually read my notes and get their lab results and CT scan results before I do.)

Many medical systems do allow physicians to retrieve information from outside systems. Sometimes this requires explicit written consent, but it’s very easy to do. The trend has been leaning toward more openness among medical records systems, which has made it much easier for me to access my patients’ records from outside of my hospital system.

DEAR DR. ROACH: A friend of mine told me that she nearly died from ehrlichiosis, which comes from a tick bite, after walking through the woods in Connecticut. She said there are other diseases that are transmitted by ticks as well. I’d only heard of Lyme disease, so I found this surprising. — J.B.

ANSWER: There are many tick-borne infections. Since I practice in the Northeast United States, I’m very familiar with human monocytic ehrlichiosis, which is endemic in the Southeast, South Central United States, and mid-Atlantic, but it can occasionally be found outside of this area.

In adults, the major symptoms are fever, nonspecific symptoms like muscle aches and fatigue, sometimes gastrointestinal symptoms like nausea and vomiting, and rashes in a minority of cases. Low white blood cell and platelet counts are frequently found and are a strong indicator of the diagnosis.

Tick-borne diseases can be transmitted at the same time. Anaplasmosis, which is similar to erlichiosis, is carried by the same tick as Lyme disease (I. scapularis, the blacklegged or deer tick), and we commonly see people who are coinfected. Babesiosis is also transmitted by the deer tick, so coinfection isn’t uncommon. Ehrlichiosis is carried by a different tick (the lone star tick), so coinfection with Lyme disease is less common.

It isn’t uncommon to treat patients for multiple infections until the lab tests confirm the diagnosis. Doxycycline treats Lyme disease, erlichiosis and anaplasmosis, but not babesiosis or Borrelia miyamotoi, so additional antibiotics are used in the case of possible coinfections.

Dr. Roach regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but will incorporate them in the column whenever possible. Readers may email questions to ToYourGoodHealth@med.cornell.edu. (c) 2026 North America Syndicate Inc.

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