Section 17. Release of medical records

Upon the written request of any
  competent patient, parent or guardian of an infant, a guardian appointed
  pursuant to article eighty-one of the mental hygiene law, or conservator
  of a conservatee, an examining,  consulting  or  treating  physician  or
  hospital  must  release  and deliver, exclusive of personal notes of the
  said physician or hospital, copies of all x-rays,  medical  records  and
  test  records  including  all laboratory tests regarding that patient to
  any other designated physician or hospital provided, however, that  such
  records  concerning  the  treatment  of  an  infant patient for venereal
  disease or the performance of an abortion  operation  upon  such  infant
  patient  shall not be released or in any manner be made available to the
  parent or guardian of such infant, and provided, further, that  original
  mammograms, rather than copies thereof, shall be released and delivered.
  Either  the  physician  or  hospital  incurring the expense of providing
  copies of  x-rays,  medical  records  and  test  records  including  all
  laboratory tests pursuant to the provisions of this section may impose a
  reasonable  charge  to  be paid by the person requesting the release and
  deliverance  of  such  records  as  reimbursement  for  such   expenses,
  provided,  however,  that  the  physician  or  hospital may not impose a
  charge for copying an original mammogram  when  the  original  has  been
  released or delivered to any competent patient, parent or guardian of an
  infant,  a  guardian  appointed  pursuant  to  article eighty-one of the
  mental hygiene law, or a conservator  of  a  conservatee  and  provided,
  further,  that  any charge for delivering an original mammogram pursuant
  to this  section  shall  not  exceed  the  documented  costs  associated
  therewith.  However,  the  reasonable  charge for paper copies shall not
  exceed seventy-five cents per page. A  release  of  records  under  this
  section shall not be denied solely because of inability to pay.
    For  the  purposes  of  this section the term "laboratory tests" shall
  include but not be limited to tests  and  examinations  administered  in
  clinical  laboratories  or  blood  banks  as  those terms are defined in
  section five hundred seventy-one of this chapter.