MEDICAL RECORDS

DESTRUCTION

THE GUIDE TOHIPAA-COMPLIANT

SHREDDING

WHAT DOMEDICAL RECORDS

CONTAIN?What goes into amedical record?

Protected Health Information (PHI)

Medical records containsensitive protected healthinformation (PHI) about aperson’s health and history.

Disposing PHI with processes forthe proper destruction of medical records is critical to protecting patient privacy and hefty penalties from HIPAA.

DIFFERENT TYPESOF MEDICAL

RECORDS & PHICommon medical

information to destroy

Different Types ofPHI

○ Account Numbers

○ Biometric Identifiers (fingerprints, retinal scan, etc.)

○ Certificate / License Numbers

○ Device Identifiers and Serial Numbers

○ Dates

○ Email Addresses

○ Fax Numbers

○ Full Face Photos and Comparable Images

○ Geographic Data

There are eighteen types of informationdefined as PHI and protected under HIPAA:

○ Internet Protocol Addresses

○ Health Plan Beneficiary Numbers

○ Medical Record Numbers

○ Names

○ Social Security Numbers

○ Telephone Numbers

○ Vehicle Identifiers and Serial Numbers

○ Web URLs

○ Unique Identifying Numbers, Characteristics, or Codes

Different Types of Medical Records

○ Surgical history

○ Obstetric history

○ Medications & medical allergies

○ Family history

○ Health Habits

○ Immunization history

Common types of medical records healthcare providers need storage and destruction for include:

○ Growth chart & developmental history

○ Physical examinations

○ Chief Complaints

○ Orders & Prescriptions

○ Test Results

FACTORING IN HIPAAWhere does HIPAA fit

in with medical records destruction?

What Is

HIPAA?

According to the HIPAA Privacy Rule, medical records are required to be stored and maintained for at least 6 years after the date of their creation or date of last use—whichever comes first.

Passed in 1996, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) helps to protect PHI. HIPAA requires implementing safeguards to prevent prohibited uses and disclosures of PHI, including during its disposal.

HIPAA Rules Violations:The Cost of Noncompliance

Up to $100 per violation

$100 – $50,000 (or more) per violation

$25,000 $1,500,000

MedicalRecord Retention:

Diagnostic Images 5 years (after age of majority)

Disease Index 10 years

Fetal Heart Monitor Records 10 years (after age of majority)

Master Patient/Person Index Permanently

Operative Index 10 years

Patient Health Records 10 years after last use

Physician Index 10 years

Register of Births Permanently

Register of Deaths Permanently

Register of Surgical Procedures Permanently

MEDICAL RECORDSDESTRUCTION& DISPOSALWhen medical records

should be shredded

Medical Records Destruction Accordingto HIPAA HIPAA leaves it up to providers

to decide on destructionmethods, but does not permit medical records to be discarded without proper disposal methods like shredding or electronics destruction.

After Retention Periods PassYour medicalrecords and other files containing PHI have passed their required retention times

Transitions to PaperlessYou’ve just transitioned to using electronic health records(EHR) and your paper recordsare scanned

Administrative MistakesClerical errors were made while handling medical records and a new copy needs to be created or filed

When Medical Records Should Be Destroyed

Steps to

Take Before

You Shred

Medical

Records

Establisha destructionplan for whenretention times

are up

Create aplan to store &track medical

records for retention

Researchstate medical

recordsretention

laws

Common Medical Records Destruction Methods

Mobile ShreddingMobile shred trucks come to your location, destroying medical records on-site while you watch. Since many need to documentrecord destruction jobs, certificates of destructionare also typically provided to detail the project specifics.

Off Site ShreddingTrucks come to your location to pick up medical records, but instead of shredding on-site, the records are taken in locked bins to an off site facility. Since trucks don’t need to stay for shredding, off site becomes more cost-efficient the more records you dispose at one time.

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