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Medical records retention and disposition is a complex activity

In a scenario where today’s healthcare environment is fast paced, diverse and straddle many disciplines; retention and disposition of medical records -both paper and electronic -is fraught with complexities. There are different rules set out by the state agencies, as well as by HIPAA statutes and regulations, for the way in which medical records need to be retained and disposed of. These sources have different requirements from the healthcare provider about this aspect.

A pointer to the diverse nature of the medical record retention and disposition can be had from this description: dentists, psychologists, physicians and other mental health professionals have their own requirements about the way in which to store medical records, the duration for which they need to be preserved, and the ways in which they need to be disposed of. An individual healthcare provider has to comply with a separate set of requirements which deal with confidentiality and even the content of these records.

If all these constitute the physical aspects of recordkeeping; there is also the legal element associated with all these. Record retention and disposition has to be set up and enforced within legally binding agreements. Any provider who violates any terms of these agreements is liable for punitive actions from the state.

Electronic medical records and telemedicine add a new dimension

With medical records becoming electronic in nature; a whole new dimension has been added to the scope and nature of medical recordkeeping. The major criterion for these electronic records is the preservation of the patient’s confidentiality. There are strict rules about confidentiality and security, in addition to retention and disposal.

Yet another development has introduced another new perspective into the area of medical records retention and disposal: telemedicine in healthcare. Health services offered through telemedicine come with their own risks relating to breach of doctor-patient arrangement, since the medium is of an audio-visual nature.

And then, there is also the issue of professional malpractice insurance, which is closely related to medical records.

All these leave healthcare providers with a host of issues relating to medical record retention and disposal. They are faced with a number of problems: do they retain a minor’s record till she becomes a major? For how long does a medical record need to be retained till a possible malpractice claim for negligent treatment crops up at some future, uncertain date? What if the state proceeds legally against a healthcare provider for some reason, during which a medical record needs to be presented?

Healthcare providers who do not comply with the requirements set out by the regulatory agencies regarding each of these aspects face punitive actions.

Get to learn the details of medical records retention and disposal

It is to help healthcare providers find answers to questions of this nature that MentorHealth, a leading provider of professional trainings for all the areas of healthcare, will be offering a training session. This webinar is being organized to help clear the air about all these confusions. At this webinar, Mark R. Brengelman, Attorney at Law, who brings over twenty years' experience in administrative and regulatory law; will be the speaker.

To get a clear idea of all the aspects of medical records retention and disposal, please enroll for this webinar.

In this session, Mark will explain all these conflicting matters about this topic. This will be of high value to those healthcare personnel who are involved in this discipline, such as individual healthcare practitioners, health care attorneys, corporate counsel in healthcare, and medical records directors.

Mark will cover the following areas at this webinar:

  • Sources of legal requirements for medical records retention
  • Sources of contractual requirements for medical records retention
  • What information is mandated to be in a specific health care practitioner's medical record
  • Facility rules as applied to the individual health care practitioner
  • Electronic records confidentiality, retention, and disposition
  • Professional wills and business succession plans for the health care practitioner to govern the retention of medical records
  • Reasons for creating and implementing a medical records policy for the health care practitioner's withdrawal from practice, incapacity, or death.

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