# Release every records request before its legal deadline > Each records request is an owned Task with its legal due date, a verification step and confirmed delivery before it closes. Markdown view of https://www.tabflows.com/university/playbooks/records-request-tracker — the HTML page is canonical. [](https://www.tabflows.com/university/playbooks) 1. [Playbooks](https://www.tabflows.com/university/playbooks) 2. [Patient Follow-Up](https://www.tabflows.com/university/playbooks#patient-follow-up) Each records request is an owned Task with its legal due date, a verification step and confirmed delivery before it closes. - Elation - Guava - Saves about 10 min per request (est.) Last checked Oct 27, 2026 against Tabflows v3.10.63 ## The situation A records request rarely feels urgent when it lands. It is a fax, a portal message or a form from an attorney or another provider, and it looks like something for a slower day. But its deadline is set by state law or regulation, not by clinic convenience, and it starts the moment the request arrives. Most clinics do not miss these by refusing them. A request sits in a pile with everything else that is not urgent today, with no due date anyone can see, until someone notices the date is close or already past. Then authorization gets verified and records get pulled under time pressure, which is when mistakes happen. Timelines vary by state and request type, but many states require records to be released within 15 to 30 days of a valid request. ## Steps 1. **Log each request the day it arrives** Make it a Task with the patient linked and a clinic Tag such as Records. In Description, write who asked, what they asked for, the date it arrived and the legal due date. 2. **Set Due on from the deadline, not the arrival date** Due on is when the Task surfaces in My Tasks, so choose a date early enough to finish before the legal due date. A request due in three days then comes up before one due in three weeks, whichever arrived first. 3. **Give the whole queue one owner** In Assigned to, choose the one person who processes records requests. When whoever is free grabs the next one, nobody can say which requests are still open. 4. **Verify before you pull anything** Add checklist items in order: authorization verified, records pulled, records sent, delivery confirmed. Confirm the requester has the right to the records, whether the patient, a legal representative or another provider with a signed release, before anything leaves the clinic. 5. **Close it only when delivery is confirmed** After sending, set the status to Waiting and note in Comments how the records went out. Fax confirmations fail and portal uploads do not always notify the recipient, so mark the Task Done only when you have actual confirmation of receipt. ## The outcome Every request has a visible due date from the day it lands, one owner, and its verification and delivery recorded on the Task. The queue tells you what needs attention today without anyone doing date math, so a request never becomes a missed deadline or a scramble to verify authorization at the last minute. **Important ⚠️:** Timelines vary by state and request type, and the window depends on whether the request is patient-directed or third-party. Track the specific due date for each request rather than relying on a general rule of thumb. ## Ask Sidekick Sidekick is the AI assistant inside Tabflows. Hey Tabflows, create a records request task for this patient with who is asking, which way the records go and the deadline as its due date, assigned to whoever handles records. ## In the Product Library - [Using Tasks for time-sensitive work](https://www.tabflows.com/university/library/tasks/using-tasks-for-time-sensitive-work) - [Break larger tasks into subtasks](https://www.tabflows.com/university/library/tasks/break-larger-tasks-into-subtasks) - [Organize Tasks with clinic tags](https://www.tabflows.com/university/library/tasks/organize-tasks-with-clinic-tags) - [How to update, complete, reopen, or delete tasks](https://www.tabflows.com/university/library/tasks/how-to-update-complete-reopen-or-delete-tasks) - [Using Elation with Tabflows](https://www.tabflows.com/university/library/integrations/using-elation-with-tabflows) - [Using Guava with Tabflows](https://www.tabflows.com/university/library/integrations/using-guava-with-tabflows) [Read the full guide](https://www.tabflows.com/blog/medical-records-request-tracking) [Open it in the Automation catalog](https://www.tabflows.com/university/automations?automation=records-request-tracker) ## Related markdown Section index: [Playbooks](https://www.tabflows.com/university/playbooks.md) Alongside this page: - [Advance directive tracking](https://www.tabflows.com/university/playbooks/advance-directive-tracking.md) - [After hours answering service](https://www.tabflows.com/university/playbooks/after-hours-answering-service.md) - [After hours message triage](https://www.tabflows.com/university/playbooks/after-hours-message-triage.md) - [Billing decline follow up](https://www.tabflows.com/university/playbooks/billing-decline-follow-up.md) - [Call follow up loop](https://www.tabflows.com/university/playbooks/call-follow-up-loop.md) - [Chronic care check ins](https://www.tabflows.com/university/playbooks/chronic-care-check-ins.md) - [Clia and compliance renewals](https://www.tabflows.com/university/playbooks/clia-and-compliance-renewals.md) - [Dea and license renewals](https://www.tabflows.com/university/playbooks/dea-and-license-renewals.md) Start here: - [Tabflows](https://www.tabflows.com/index.md) - [Tabflows pricing](https://www.tabflows.com/pricing.md) - [Tabflows FAQ](https://www.tabflows.com/faqs.md) - [About Tabflows](https://www.tabflows.com/about.md) - [Contact Tabflows](https://www.tabflows.com/contact.md) - [DPC workflow software](https://www.tabflows.com/dpc-workflow-software.md) - [Directory](https://www.tabflows.com/directory.md) - [Workflows](https://www.tabflows.com/workflows.md) - [DPC finder](https://www.tabflows.com/dpc-finder.md) Every page listed in sitemap.xml has a markdown twin at the same URL with `.md` appended, or by sending `Accept: text/markdown` to the canonical URL. Wider index: [llms.txt](https://www.tabflows.com/llms.txt), [llms-full.txt](https://www.tabflows.com/llms-full.txt), [sitemap.md](https://www.tabflows.com/sitemap.md), [sitemap.xml](https://www.tabflows.com/sitemap.xml). Support documentation: https://www.tabflows.com/university/library — append `.md` to any article URL for its raw markdown.