Who is the custodian of medical records?
When a medical practice closes, they will need to elect a custodian of medical records to manage all health care information requests going forward. It is the medical practice’s obligation to have a company or new medical group properly store and handle all future requests for medical records, otherwise, there is the potential of a lawsuit. Custodians who agree to retain records can be either a person or a company.
What happens next?
When medical records are transferred to the custodian of medical records when a practice closes, patients should be notified that they may designate a physician or another provider who can receive a copy of the records. If a patient does not designate a physician, records may be transferred to a designated commercial storage firm, medical group, or physician. Learn more about our medical record storage solutions →
Testimonial
“When I recently retired from the private practice of rheumatology, Desert River Solutions made the difficult job of dealing with several thousands of patient records painless and affordable. There were no surprises. Everything was done as promised and on time. They came and boxed all of the records, transported them to their facilities, digitized and shredded the documents. They also provide the ongoing service of responding to record requests. This is by far much simpler and cleaner.” — Dr. Francis Nardella, MD
Benefits of a Medical Record Custodian
We handle your future medical record requests
All requests will be sent to Desert River Solutions, your custodian of medical records. You will draft a notice for your patients, informing them of how and where to obtain copies of their medical records once the practice is closed. Sounds easy right? It is!
All medical records are scanned and/or exported
If you still have physical files, we will scan them and get them into PDF form. If you have an EMR software we are able to export all medical records out of it. From there we will be able to securely store all files under HIPAA guidelines.
Enjoy your next adventure worry free
No need to worry about your medical records. Once we know the exact amount of time your state requires for your medical records to be kept for you, we will be able to close your doors the right way.
In just a few minutes you can get a quote… GET STARTED TODAY!
Close your medical practice:
Easy steps to a physician’s retirement
- All patient files will be shipped to our facility in Phoenix, Arizona.
- We will take your medical records and digitize if needed.
- We will export your files from your EMR and house them ourselves.
- You will give notice to your patients that we will be the custodian of your medical records.
- You will give notice to your state medical board about the changes.
- All health information requests go through us as your medical record custodian.
- Patients will be able to sign request form, send back securely, and receive any requested medical record.
Frequently Asked Questions
Medical Records Custodian
You need a custodian of medical records handling your private healthcare records so that you can be free of legal obligation and future requests from patients. If you are ready to retire, contact us so we can assist you with this important transition.
The medical records custodian is the person or company that has been designated to handle your private healthcare records so that you can be free of legal obligation and future medical record requests from patients.
Each state has their own guidelines for how long you will need to store your patient records.
Our health information management solutions ensure that all files be electronically scanned and stored in HIPAA compliant cloud storage accord to state and federal laws.
You will contact your patients by sending a letter and also contacting your state medical board.
In your patient letter, you will direct them towards our requests page where the patient will find instructions on how to receive their medical records.
We charge the patient for records to be released.
