FROM: Matthew Ranelli, Associate Attorney

RE: Number of Years to Retain Medical Records

You asked how long providers must retain patients' medical records.

By law, medical providers must keep records of the assessment, diagnosis, and course of treatment for each of their patients. The purpose of such records is to document the course of treatment and the patient's progress and to provide meaningful medical information for other practitioners who may treat the patient. The record must contain (1) sufficient information to justify the diagnosis and treatment; (2) dates of treatment; (3) actions taken by nonlicensed personnel; (4) doctors' orders, nurses' notes, and charts and worksheets; and (5) other required diagnostic data or documents.

Providers must retain patient's medical records for seven years after the last treatment date, or three years from the patient's death, except (1) lab reports and PKU reports must be retained for only five years and (2) x-ray film for only three years (Ct. Reg. § 19a-14-42).

Pathology slides, EEGs, and ECG tracings must also be retained for seven years, but as subsequent ECGs are taken, previous ones may be discarded if the results are unchanged.

If a patient changes doctors and request his records be transferred to his new primary care doctor, the first doctor is no longer required to retain the records.

When a doctor terminates his practice, he (or his executor or responsible relative in the case of death) must inform patients by published notice in a local paper and a letter to each patient. The patient's medical records must be retained for 60 days after the notice (Ct. Reg. § 19a-14-44).

MR:pa