12/02/2016

Retaining Medical Records

The medical records regarding your patient should be retained in a secure manner.  We recommend retaining medical records for the longest applicable time period, considering the requirements of state and federal law and the statute of limitations applicable to health care fraud.  Recommendations are as follows:

In regard to Minor Patients, records should be retained for whichever is longer
(a) 10 years from the last date of the filing for reimbursement for any third party payer.
(b) 10 years from the last date of treatment if there is no third party payer involved.
(c) Until the patient is age 22.

In regard to Adult Patients, we recommend keeping the records for 10 years from the date of the filing for reimbursement from any third party payer.  If there is no third party payer involved, then 10 years from the last date of treatment.

Regarding Medical Devices, we recommend retaining records for the useful life of the medical device or until the device is no longer in use due to removal, return to the manufacturer or the patient’s death.