Retention and Destruction of Health Records
Purpose:
To provide guidance on retention and destruction of health and dental records.
Policy:
Patients’ Health Records shall be retained for a minimum of ten (10) years, except that a minor shall have his/her record retained until his/her twentieth birthday, whichever occurs later. Preservation of Patients’ Health Records may be extended by _______Organization Name______________________ for clinical, educational, statistical, or administrative purposes. Specifically, Patients’ Dental Records remaining under the care, custody, and control of ___________________Organization Name_____________________ shall be retained for a minimum of seven years from the date of when the last professional service was provided or in the case of a minor, seven years from the age of majority. _________________Organization Name____________________ shall retain and dispose of Health Records in a manner consistent with this policy.
Procedure:
1. Records Retention/Destruction Schedule shall be established for all patients’ records.
2. Records eligible for destruction shall be destroyed via proper disposal methods, based upon the Records Retention/Destruction Schedule established.
3. Certificate of Records Destruction shall be generated and retained permanently.
4. Archiving protocols for electronic health records: ____________________________________________________________________.
**This function may be performed by _______________Organization Name_____________________________ or a Business Associate Records' Vendor.
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