If you’re getting ready to close your Virginia 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 Virginia 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 Virginia 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.
Virginia Medical Records Retention Laws
Virginia Laws for Minors’ Medical Record Retention
Providers:
Records of a minor child, including immunizations, shall be maintained until the child reaches the age of 18 or becomes emancipated, with a minimum time for record retention of six years from the last patient encounter regardless of the age of the child.
Hospitals:
Records of minors shall be kept for at least five years after such minor has reached the age of 18 years
Virginia Laws for Adults’ Medical Record Retention
Providers:
Practitioners shall maintain a patient record for a minimum of six years following the last patient encounter.
Hospitals:
All medical records either original or accurate reproductions shall be preserved for a minimum of five years following discharge of the patient.
Virginia Medical Facility Closure Guidelines
Practitioners shall post information or in some manner inform all patients concerning the timeframe for record retention and destruction. When a practitioner is closing, selling, or relocating his practice, he shall meet the requirements of § 54.1-2405 of the Code of Virginia for giving notice that copies of records can be sent to any like-regulated provider of the patient’s choice or provided to the patient.
Virginia Medical Record Retention Statutes
If you would like to read the laws in Virginia pertaining to medical record retention yourself, visit these links:
Preparing Medical Records for Custodianship in Virginia
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 Virginia 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 Virginia 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 Virginia, medical records must be retained for a minimum of 5 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 Virginia 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.
