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Maine Medical Record Retention Laws & Finding a Medical Records Custodian in Maine

Information for Maine Doctors and Hospitals

If you’re getting ready to close your Maine 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 Maine 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 Maine 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.

Maine Medical Records Retention Laws

Maine Laws for Minors’ Medical Record Retention

Providers: 

The State of Maine has no laws regarding record retention.

Hospitals: 

If the patient is a minor, the record must be retained for at least six (6) years past the age of majority.

Maine Laws for Adults’ Medical Record Retention

Providers:

The State of Maine has no laws regarding record retention

Hospitals:

Records shall be preserved, either on paper or by other electronic/optical means, for a period of seven (7) years.

Maine Medical Facility Closure Guidelines

When the decision is made to close a healthcare facility, the governing board should give careful thought to preserving and protecting the facility’s health records. Ideally, records would be transferred to another healthcare facility, where they would be made available to patients and their healthcare providers and where they would be subject to the same retention schedule as the facility’s own records. If such an arrangement is not possible, protection of access should be made a part of any other record disposal plan. It is recommended to post a notice in local newspapers to notify patients of the plan to destroy records. This notice should give ample time for the patient to respond before the records are destroyed.

For more information, visit the Maine Health Information and the Law Website.

Maine Medical Record Retention Statutes

If you would like to read the laws in Maine pertaining to medical record retention yourself, visit this link:

Looking down at doctors and nurses looking at medical records and xrays on a table.

Preparing Medical Records for Custodianship in Maine

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:

  1. All physical patient files are securely shipped to our facility in Phoenix, Arizona.
  2. We scan your medical records and digitize if needed, and extract patient files from your EMR to house them ourselves.
  3. We create a custom records request landing page on our website for your patients.
  4. You give notice to your patients that we will be the custodian of your medical records, using a template we provide.
  5. You give notice to the Maine state medical board that Desert River Solutions is now your custodian of records.
  6. All health information requests go through us as your medical record custodian and you no longer have to do anything!
  7. Patients will be able to sign a request form, send it back securely, and receive any requested medical records in a prompt manner.
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Learn More About Desert River Solutions Medical Records Custodian Services for Maine 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 Maine, medical records must be retained for a minimum of 7 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 Maine 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.

Learn More About 
DRS Medical Record Custodian Services

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. 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 medical practice.