If you’re getting ready to close your Florida medical practice, it’s important to have a clear understanding of medical record retention laws and that you find a professional medical records custodian that you can trust to fulfill records requests after you retire or move on to a different job. Looking for a trusted medical records custodian in Florida can be a challenging task. You need to ensure top quality, accuracy, and trusted service.
Desert River Solutions is a leading medical records custodian that provides electronic medical records extraction and document scanning services for medical and dental practices, hospitals, and related businesses. Our medical record management process and medical record storage facilities are HIPAA compliant. We are medical record management experts who convert paper records to electronic forms and assist with electronic health record (EHR) extraction at large volumes turnaround.
Not sure how to handle Florida medical record retention legal requirements after closing your practice? Read on for more information about laws and hiring a custodian of medical records or contact us to learn more today.
Florida Medical Records Retention Laws
Florida Laws for Minors’ Medical Record Retention
Providers:
A licensed physician shall keep adequate written medical records for a period of at least five years from the last patient contact.
Public Health Care Providers:
Public healthcare providers or institutions must keep medical records for 7 anniversary years after last entry.
Florida Laws for Adults’ Medical Record Retention
Providers:
A licensed physician shall keep adequate written medical records for a period of at least five years from the last patient contact.
Public Health Care Providers:
Public healthcare providers or institutions must keep medical records for 7 anniversary years after last entry.
Other Laws in Florida Related to Medical Record Retention
Public healthcare providers and institutions include public providers of dental care and mental health and drug addiction counseling, multiphase clinics, hospitals, county public health units, medical/dental/nursing schools, EMS providers, and limited care residential facilities.
Florida Medical Facility Closure Guidelines
When a licensed physician terminates practice or relocates and is no longer available to patients, patients should be notified of such termination, sale, or relocation and unavailability by the physician’s causing to be published once during each week for four (4) consecutive weeks, in the newspaper of greatest general circulation in each county in which the physician practices or practiced and in a local newspaper that serves the immediate practice area, a notice which shall contain the date of termination, sale, or relocation and an address at which the records may be obtained from the physician terminating or selling the practice or relocating or from another licensed physician or osteopathic physician.
A copy of this notice shall also be submitted to the Board of Medicine within one (1) month from the date of termination, sale, or relocation of the practice. The licensed physician may, but is not required to, place a sign in a conspicuous location on the facade of the physician’s office or notify patients by letter of the termination, sale, or relocation of the practice. The sign or notice shall advise the licensed physician’s patients of their opportunity to transfer or receive their records.
Read more on the Florida Administrative Register Website.
Florida Medical Record Retention Statutes
If you would like to read the laws in Florida pertaining to medical record retention yourself, visit these links:
Preparing Medical Records for Custodianship in Florida
Our medical record custodianship experts provide customized quotes based on your specific needs and the number of patient records or charts you have.
We take patient privacy seriously. Our medical record storage and document scanning solutions are all HIPAA-compliant and we use servers specially encrypted for medical record storage. HIPAA was designed to ensure the confidential handling of health records. All medical records scanning must be done in a manner that is compliant with HIPAA and its privacy regulations.
Because your patient’s records are filled with personal health information (PHI), they must remain private and secure at all times. This is not just a moral obligation to your patients, it’s a legal obligation, and it’s important that you partner with a trusted medical records custodian who can ensure the security of your patients’ record throughout the entire custodianship process.
Medical Record Custodian Process:
- All physical patient files are securely shipped to our facility in Phoenix, Arizona.
- We scan your medical records and digitize if needed, and extract patient files from your EMR to house them ourselves.
- We create a custom records request landing page on our website for your patients.
- You give notice to your patients that we will be the custodian of your medical records, using a template we provide.
- You give notice to the Florida state medical board that Desert River Solutions is now your custodian of records.
- All health information requests go through us as your medical record custodian and you no longer have to do anything!
- Patients will be able to sign a request form, send it back securely, and receive any requested medical records in a prompt manner.
Learn More About Desert River Solutions Medical Records Custodian Services for Florida Medical Practices
When a healthcare facility or doctor’s office closes, hiring a custodian of medical records company to manage patient records makes it easier for doctors and staff to go on to their next adventure. In Florida, medical records must be retained for a minimum of 6 years. Desert River Solutions makes it easy for you to ensure your patients have access to their medical records for the legally required amount of time.
Contact us today to get a no-obligation quote on medical record custodian services for your Florida medical practice.
Legal Disclaimer: the information contained in this site is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject matter.
