Medical Records Storage Requirements

Medical records privacy laws outline patients rights to secrecy of their medical information and the circumstances under which that information may or must be disclosed.

Medical records storage requirements.

Five steps to protecting paper medical records 1. While requirements vary state by state common records to retain include. Implement safe storage basics. Ensure that all of your paper medical records are protected from basic environmental.

A needs assessment takes into account the current state of your records storage. Records for adult patients must be maintained for a minimum of seven years from date of last patient encounter. Medical records and protected health information phi financial records like auditor s reports employee payroll records financial statements and general ledgers business records like articles of incorporation contracts and agreements and legal correspondence. Storage medical records and phi must be stored where there is controlled access we recommend that medical records and phi stored.

When determining your medical records storage requirements it is important to estimate the data growth for at least the next five years while also increasing your estimate by anywhere from 5 to 20 to deal with unexpected levels of consumption. We recommend that medical records and phi stored in hallways that are accessible by unauthorized individuals should be.