Aria Asghari v. Department of Public Health (SPR 20180392)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords March 28, 2018 SPR18/392 Helen Rush-Lloyd Records Access Officer Department of Public Health 250 Washington Street Boston, MA 02108-4619 Dear Attorney Rush-Lloyd: I have received the petition of Aria Asghari appealing the response of the Department of Public Health (Department) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66,.§ 1O A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Ms. Asghari requested a copy of records pertaining to Physician Health Services, specifically: 1. "Consent for the Release of Confidential Information" signed by client #2201, on May 6, 2016, between Physician Health Services and party in Elmhurst, Illinois; 2. "Consent for the Release of Confidential Information" signed by client #2201, on April 20, 2016; and 3. "Consent for the Release of Confidential Information" signed by client #2201, in April or May 2014, between Physician Health Services and a party in Elmhurst, Illinois. No responsive records During a March 23rd telephone conversation and in a written response, Emily Sullivan, a paralegal specialist at the Department informed Ms. Ashgari that the Department does not have custody of medical records or the type of records that were requested. Ms. Sullivan suggested that Ms. Ashgari may wish to make a request to the Board of Registration in Medicine (BORIM). A review of the response shows that the Department provided Ms. Ashgari with the name, title, mailing address, telephone number and email address of the Records Access Officer (RAO) at BORIM. In a March 2ih email to this office after this appeal was opened, you confirmed that the Department is not the custodian of the requested records and that Ms. Ashgari was referred to BORIM. One Ashburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 • (617) 727-2832• Fax: (617) 727-5914 sec.state.ma.us/pre• pre@sec.state.ma.us

Helen Rush-Lloyd SPRI8/392 Page2 March 28, 2018 Under the Public Records Law, the RAO shall identify any records that are not within its possession, custody or control of the public record sought. See G. L. c. 66, § 6A( d); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.06(3)(c)(2). There is no obligation to create a record in response to a public records request. 32 Op. Att'y Gen. 157, 165 (May 18, 1977). Conclusion Accordingly, where the Department has no records responsive to the request and is not the custodian of the requested records, this administrative appeal is closed. Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Ms. Aria Asghari