The Medical Center Archives does not hold current medical records related to patient health. If you are seeking information regarding current records from the New York Hospital, Presbyterian Hospital, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, or the Lying-In Hospital that date from September 1932 to the present, please contact the Medical Records Department through their website or at 646-697-4764.
The Medical Center Archives holds a sampling of historical patient records that date from 1794 to 1934:
- New York Hospital, 1794-1796, 1801-1807, 1808-1932
- Bloomingdale Asylum/Bloomingdale Hospital, 1808-1932
- Lying-In Hospital of the City of New York, 1893-1932
- Manhattan Maternity and Dispensary, 1905-1932
- New York Asylum for Lying-In Women, 1854-1899
- New York Infant Asylum, 1871-1901, 1904-1909
- New York Nursery and Child's Hospital, 1909-1934
- Nursery and Child's Hospital, 1859-1905
Birth certificates from 1910 and death records from 1949 to the present are available from the New York City Department of Health. Birth certificates prior to 1910 and death certificates prior to 1949 are available from the Municipal Archives of New York City.
Accessing Historical Patient Records Onsite
The historical records in the Medical Center Archives are protected by HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) and internal policies which require protection and confidential handling of protected health information (PHI). The Medical Center Archives is able to provide access to records of deceased individuals if the researcher makes written representations via our PHI form that the use or disclosure being sought is solely for research on the PHI of decedents or that the PHI being sought is necessary for research. Please note that you must clearly state the output of your research and that by signing the form, you agree to deidentify the data. Individuals will be presumed to be deceased 100 years after the date of birth (if this date is available in the records) or date of record creation, whichever occurs first.
All PHI forms must be submitted via regular postal mail only. We cannot accept or send e-mail inquiries containing any type of PHI (including names), whether deceased or living. Once we receive the completed form, the Medical Center Archives staff may need to work with institutional privacy officers to determine if IRB approval is needed before allowing onsite access to the archival records. Following the completion of this process, we can schedule an onsite appointment to view the records. Please note that we do not allow researchers to make copies or take photographs of any patient records consulted onsite, whether living or deceased.
Accessing Historical Patient Records Remotely
The historical records in the Medical Center Archives are protected by HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) and internal policies which require protection and confidential handling of protected health information (PHI). The Medical Center Archives is able to provide access to records of deceased individuals if the researcher makes written representations via our PHI form that the use or disclosure being sought is solely for research on the PHI of decedents or that the PHI being sought is necessary for research. Please note that you must clearly state the output of your research and that by signing the form, you agree to deidentify the data. Individuals will be presumed to be deceased 100 years after the date of birth (if this date is available in the records) or date of record creation, whichever occurs first. In all other instances, the researcher must provide supporting documentation (such as a birth certificate or obituary) showing dates of birth or death; additional documentation containing proof that the patient was at a particular organization within a particular year is also helpful in guiding our search. Due to the fragile nature of our patient records, we will only search one year’s worth of historical records from one institution; if no date is provided with your supporting documentation, we will make an educated judgment as to the appropriate year to search.
All PHI forms must be submitted via regular postal mail only. We cannot accept or send e-mail inquiries containing any type of PHI (including names), whether deceased or living. Once we receive the completed form, the Medical Center Archives staff may need to work with institutional privacy officers to determine if IRB approval is needed before allowing remote access to the archival information. Following completion of this process, we will search the records and send a typed transcript of any pertinent information to you via regular postal mail. Please note we are unable to make photocopies or scans of documents containing PHI.
