How Long Are Medical Records Kept? And 11 Other Health History FAQs (2024)

FAQs

How long should medical records be kept? ›

California. Hospitals in California must keep adult patient records for seven years after the last discharge date.

How long are medical records kept for? According to federal and state laws, medical records should be kept at least two to seven years.

You can have anywhere from 1-60 pages, of medical records, depending on the patient.

In most states, medical records must be kept for at least seven years after a patient's last appointment. Some states have different laws that require medical records to be kept for longer periods of time.

Medical records must be maintained for the duration of employment plus 30 years.

HIPAA Data Retention Requirements

Organizations must maintain these records for at least 6 years from the date of creation or 6 years after the “last effective date”, whichever is later. The “last effective date” is the last day the policies, procedures, or systems are still in use.

At 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. In some states, the statute of limitations does not start until the patient turns 18.

Under IRS guidelines, every medical practice should retain bank statements with cancelled checks for at least three years after filing their income tax returns. During an audit, the IRS will routinely request all bank statements to search for unreported income.

Legal information such as narratives provided to your professional liability carrier or correspondence with your defense attorney, Unprofessional or personal comments about the patient, or. Derogatory comments about colleagues or their treatment of the patient.

The Legal and Ethical Timelines Governing Records

For example, HIPAA requires hospitals to keep adult records for six years after the last visit and children's records until the patient turns 21. Not following these rules can result in significant fines and damage to your reputation.

What is the legal medical record? ›

The Legal Medical Record is a subset of the Designated Record Set and is the record that will be released for legal proceedings or in response to a request to release patient medical records. The Legal Medical Record can be certified as such in a court of law.

A medical record is considered complete if it contains sufficient information to identify the patient; support the diagnosis/condition; justify the care, treatment, and services; document the course and results of care, treatment, and services; and promote continuity of care among providers.

CMS requires that providers submitting cost reports retain all patient records for at least five years after the closure of the cost report. And if you're a Medicare managed care program provider, CMS requires that you retain the patient records for 10 years.

A stand alone Medical Records Release and Authorization to Use and Disclose Health Information Form will state that this authorization does not have an expiration date (unless superceded by state or local laws).

Some other records should be retained: - Insurance policies & licenses sho\uld be kept indefinitely. - Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) controlled substances records should be kept indefinitely.

Federal law allows medical providers to destroy medical records after six years but some states require a longer retention period. If the medical records pertain to a child, you may be required to retain them for more than 10 years.

§482.24(c)(1) - All patient medical record entries must be legible, complete, dated, timed, and authenticated in written or electronic form by the person responsible for providing or evaluating the service provided, consistent with hospital policies and procedures. All entries in the medical record must be legible.