HIPAA Q&A: You’ve got questions. We’ve got answers!
HIM-HIPAA Insider, January 4, 2016
Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to HIM-HIPAA Insider!
Submit your HIPAA questions to Associate Editor Nicole Votta at nvotta@hcpro.com and we will work with our experts to provide you with the information you need.
Q: What is the recommendation for retaining hard copies of medical records once they have been transferred to an EMR system?
A: This varies quite a bit depending on your storage capabilities and state retention laws. I am aware of some organizations that keep these records for 3–6 years (until the statute of limitations has run out), but this is a very conservative approach. I have also seen six months and one month. I would suggest ensuring you have a rigorous scanning quality control process to reassure yourself that you in fact have the scanned documents and they are readable. I would recommend that you keep the hard copies for at least one month after scanning. You might also want to consult legal counsel on this matter.
Editor’s note: Chris Simons, MS, RHIA, HIM director and privacy officer at Maine General Medical Center in Augusta, Maine, answered this question for HCPro’s HIM Briefings newsletter. This information does not constitute legal advice. Consult legal counsel for answers to specific privacy and security questions.
Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to HIM-HIPAA Insider!
Related Products
-
Briefings on APCs
Worried about the complexities of the new rules under OPPS and APCs? Briefings on APCs helps you understand the new rules...
-
HIM Briefings
Guiding Health Information Management professionals through the continuously changing field of medical records and toward a...
-
Briefings on Coding Compliance Strategies
Submitting improper Medicare documentation can lead to denial of fees, payback, fines, and increased diligence from payers...
-
Briefings on HIPAA
How can you minimize the impact of HIPAA? Subscribe to Briefings on HIPAA, your health information management resource for...
-
APCs Insider
This HTML-based e-mail newsletter provides weekly tips and advice on the new ambulatory payment classifications regulations...
Most Popular
- Articles
-
- Don't forget the three checks in medication administration
- Note similarities and differences between HCPCS, CPT® codes
- Practice the six rights of medication administration
- Pneumonia with a negative chest x-ray: Clinical diagnoses, physician documentation, and coding guidelines
- What does case-mix index mean to you?
- Q&A: Primary, principal, and secondary diagnoses
- What to include on the incident report
- Neurological checks for head injuries
- Free tool: Peer evaluation tool for charge nurse
- OB services: Coding inside and outside of the package
- E-mailed
-
- Neurological checks for head injuries
- What to include on the incident report
- Understand which parts of the medical record coders can use
- Nursing tops Gallup’s most honest and ethical professions list
- Note similarities and differences between HCPCS, CPT® codes
- Interviewing residency program applicants
- Follow these nine tips to capture inpatient wound care correctly
- Code diagnoses and outpatient treatment for PTSD
- Can we bill for triage and admit for a patient who left before being seen?
- Analyzing nurse staffing: Understanding FTEs
- Searched
