Whether you are closing your practice for retirement, a new job, financial hardship or any other reason, it takes a lot of work for health care physicians to properly leave their practice and remain compliant with legal and professional obligations to their patients as the custodian of record. One of the most important things that practitioners need to consider when closing their practice is the handling of medical records and their former patients’ access to them in the future.

Depending on what works best for you and your situation, you have a few options to choose from: 1) continue to store medical data and answer requests for records even after you close or move; 2) sell or merge your business and transfer records to the new practice; or 3) get a third-party custodian of record to take care of your practice’s medical records.

Keep your practice’s medical records

Your first choice is to keep your patients’ medical records and remain the custodian even after you close your practice or leave the area. Because of HIPAA, you are legally obligated to provide your patients access to their records. However, different states have different laws regarding how long you are to keep those records—it could be as little as five years or as many as 10. You have to make sure you know what you are legally bound to.

It’s important to note that in this scenario, it’s not just your obligation to keep the medical records, but to comply with any ROIs that come your way. It will be your job to make sure that your patients have the ability to retrieve their records, and you will be the one who must respond to subpoenas, audits, complaints, etc. by releasing the necessary records.

Sell or merge your practice

If you aren’t necessarily closing your practice, just selling or merging it, the most sensible thing to do regarding medical records is to make sure they get transferred over properly to the new practice. You will still technically be legally responsible for making sure the medical records are available, so it is crucial that you have a proper agreement that specifically states patient data will continue to be available. It would be wise to keep a backup copy of the medical records as well.

Get a third-party custodian of record

The best option, if you do not want to worry too much about the records, remaining compliant and other legalese, would be to find a third-party vendor to become the new custodian of record for your practice’s data. A third-party custodian can be another person or company that you hand over the records to and will be in charge of all the record requests and legal filings that might come down the road. While the services will vary in cost depending on what you require, this option allows you some peace of mind knowing you will not have to be in charge of all the extra responsibilities when you are ready to close up shop.

One last thing

At the end of the day, you are still responsible for the medical records of your past patients. Just to cover all your bases, you should still keep a copy of your practice’s records for the designated amount of time. It is also your job to communicate with your clients about your practice closing so they are able to find a new physician, request their records, and transfer them over. This not only is your legal obligation, it can also save a lot of headache for you and your clients when they are in need of their records and your closed for business.

Partner Up

As more features and requirements are collected, we will post them here as well. If you have any immediate questions, shoot me a message, I can steer you in the right direction.

No matter what you end up doing with your legacy systems, do something. “There are two types of people in this world, those that have lost data, and those that are about to.” Archive those old servers and save funds today by ensuring you dont need to upgrade the hardware and software of those old legacy systems.

-Dan Holleran | 314-471-3409 | dan@pdehealth.com | www.pdehealth.com

PDE Health is an advanced data solutions firm, and have developed the CHR Base product. Visit our website to learn more about who we are and what we can do as a good business partner in the healthcare data industry.