>>Is there any reason to keep medical records in hard copy form rather then electronic if they are all closed?

A friend of mine practice oriental medicine and must keep medical records for 6 years.  She is leaving the country (for good) and it would be a whole lot cheaper for her to carry/store a few CDs rather then 6-7 banker boxes.

Any thoughts?

Teresa Werner,
RIM Consultant
775-338-1342
<<

Here are some thoughts:

What is oriental medicine and is it considered a real medical practice and are patient files covered by HIPAA and CMS related regs and state laws for medical files?

What state does she operate in? Some states have a state laws that specifies a retention longer than six years. PA has a requirement for seven years, and if you close your practice you have to notify the state department of Health where your records are stored (28 PA 115.23). 

When is she leaving and does she have time to arrange or contract out an imaging operation to scan the files and perform the necessary QA/QC and so on and so on ...?

Does she need to take the files with her or can they stay in the US?

If she is leaving "for good" what US laws does she really need to worry about? I doubt she would be extradited back to the US for failure to retain a medical file for the full retention period. Can she not simply give the files to the patients?


Gary Link, CRM
Corporate Records Manager
Astorino
227 Fort Pitt Blvd.
Pittsburgh, PA  15222
(412) 765-1700
www.Astorino.com


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