Original medical records (including x-rays) are considered to be the
property of the person/facility creating them, i.e., the
hospital/clinic/physician is the owner, not the patient. This is usually
defined by state statute, and most state health departments issue strict
rules and regulations regarding record storage and disposal. That said,
under HIPAA and the laws of certain states, patients are entitled to the
information contained in the records and may obtain that information by
reviewing the original records and/or requesting copies of the records.
I'm not sure why you have been given your original films, but am aware of
some instances when offices/hospitals close and are given permission by the
state to contact patients and offer them their original records to
facilitate continuing patient care. If records are not claimed by patients,
they are usually stored for the length of time set by state law and then
destroyed.
Liz Allan, RHIA
Director of Client Programs
SOURCECORP Deliverex
San Jose, CA
-----Original Message-----
From: Records Management Program [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
Of Amy Conant
Sent: Tuesday, October 26, 2004 10:11 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Cost of Converting Paper Files to CDs
Forgive me if this has already been exhausted but does this also apply to
medical records? Recently I was given my x-ray film to store on my own
since the facility no longer stores them. I had the option of doing what I
wanted with them. Seems to me a central place for all of these stored under
proper conditions would be more beneficial to doctors and hospitals.
Amy Conant
Programmer Analyst
RM (in training)
Arapahoe County Colorado
-----Original Message-----
From: Records Management Program [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On
Behalf Of Yanaway, Dana E.
Sent: Tuesday, October 26, 2004 11:07 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Cost of Converting Paper Files to CDs
The question of who owns the file has been bandied about for some time.
Historically there was a consensus in the legal community that the
client file belonged to the client. That consensus seems to be shifting
now. There is an argument that lawyers were paid to provide advice. the
client files may represent what was told to the client, but the client
did not buy the paper, rather they purchased the legal opinion of the
lawyer.
Therefore the question of ownership of the paper stored in the warehouse
is not definitively decided.
Of course when it comes to lawyers, just about everything is subject to
debate. There are good arguments on both sides. I would hesitate to
categorically state where the ownership of the files resides at this
point in time though.
snip>>
Interesting thing to consider here is very few of the records being
stored
by law firms belong to the firm... the majority of them belong to the
clients. The firm may be requested by the clients to retain the records
for some period of time, and in some cases paid directly for that, but
typically it's a part of the fees the clients pay to retain the firm.
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