When a practice closes and medical records are transferred, patients should be notified that they may designate a physician or another provider who can receive a copy of the records. Some pediatricians ask a colleague still practicing in the community to serve as custodian of the records. Another option is to use a secure document storage facility. If you are closing your practice and have paper medical records, it may be possible to pay for storage at a neighboring medical office. Options for Storage of Paper Medical Records Reasons for retaining medical records include: providing patients with their personal information should they wish to access it protecting the pediatrician in case a legal claim is made in the future and complying with federal and state regulations.
When patients are informed in advance about how their medical records will be handled there is substantially less likelihood of a complaint to the Medical Board if or when pediatricians close their practices. Some practices provide this policy to new patients as part of their "introduction to the practice" materials. They should check with their medical liability insurance carrier and legal representative prior to finalizing it. However, those still using paper records are in a confusing, expensive situation where cumbersome paper records must be stored for long periods of time. That being said, every medical practice should create a policy on record retention, based primarily on medical considerations and continuity of care. In addition to state laws, pediatricians should check with their malpractice insurers to make sure their patient records are available as long as the insurance carrier says they need to be.Īs EHRs become more universal, the problem should be alleviated since electronic data storage is relatively inexpensive and accessible. In fact, many medical liability insurers stipulate how long the physicians they insure should keep patient charts. Therefore, medical records must be kept for at least as long as there is a possibility of a malpractice lawsuit.
If a lawsuit is filed and the medical records have been destroyed, it will be hard to defend the care provided. Additionally, depending on the circumstances, medical record retention may be dictated by state law, federal regulation or even the Joint Commission. In some states, the statute of limitations does not start until the patient turns 18. So in a state with a two-year statute of limitations, a malpractice case related to newborn care could be filed 20 years after delivery, meaning newborn records need to be kept at least 20 years.
CALIFORNIA PEDIATRIC MEDICAL RECORDS PLUS
Īt a minimum, pediatric medical records should be retained for 10 years or the age of majority plus the applicable state statute of limitations (time to file a lawsuit), whichever is longer. Instead, a practice must try to piece together a patchwork of statutes, regulations, case law and State Medical Board position statements. There is no "bright line" consistent with federal and state law which establishes how long medical records must be maintained in every case. Records retention is a challenging issue.
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