Your practice likely knows that you must retain medical records for at least six years under the HIPAA laws (and sometimes even longer according to state regulations). And while it may be realistic to even keep them for up to a decade, most practices can’t retain records for that long due to storage constraints.
If your practice plans to destroy medical records, you must do so compliantly, and to prove that, it’s important to keep a log of how you did it.
Check these six documentation musts so you can ensure you’re accurately logging the medical records you destroy.
1. The Date of Destruction
Always record the date and time that you destroyed the medical records in your log so it’s clear that you met the record retention laws.
2. Method of Destruction
You must destroy the medical records in a way that would make it impossible for anyone who located the destroyed files to reconstruct them. Though the HIPAA laws don’t dictate just one acceptable method, the following may be among your options:
- For paper records: Burning, shredding, pulping, pulverizing
- For microfilm or microfiche: Recycling and pulverizing.
- Laser discs used in “write once-read many” document-imaging applications: Pulverizing
- For computerized data: Magnetic degaussing or overwriting
- DVDs: Shredding or cutting
- Magnetic tapes: Demagnetizing
Whichever method you choose, be sure and record it in your logs.
3. Description of the Destroyed Records
You should summarize what you destroyed. For instance, “All office visits, lab records, X-ray reports and surgical notes for Mr. Smith were shredded.”
4. Covered Dates of Service
In your log, don’t forget to note the dates of service that were covered in the records. For instance, “We destroyed all of Mr. Smith’s records from dates of service January 26, 2000, through August 17, 2010.”
5. A Statement From Your Staff
In addition to the other information in your log, you should include a statement noting that the records were destroyed as part of the normal course of business. This tells any reviewers that you didn’t destroy the records for an unusual reason.
6. Signatures of Participants
Everyone who either supervised or witnessed the destruction of the medical records should sign the log. If a reviewer were to look at the log, they should be able to corroborate the facts of how the medical records were destroyed with anyone who was present that day.
Don’t risk facing a $50,000 fine for incorrectly destroying medical records. Let attorneys Daphne Kackloudis, JD, and Ashley Watson, JD walk you through the best way to destroy your records during their online training event, Avoid Medical Record Destruction Mistakes and $50,000 Fines. Register today!
 |
Subscribe to Healthcare Practice Advisor |
| Get actionable advice to help improve your practice’s reimbursement, compliance, and success in this weekly eNewsletter. |
|
| [gravityform id="90" title="false" description="false"] |
The post 6 Documentation Essentials When Destroying Medical Records appeared first on Healthcare Training Leader.