Custodian of Medical Records

Preparing to retire or close your medical practice?

Desert River Solutions has a decade of medical records custodian experience and was co-founded by a 40-year practicing physician. We’re a trusted, HIPAA-compliant custodian of medical records for doctors’ offices and medical practices across the country. We truly understand how important your patients and records are and will help you maintain your legacy worry-free while you seize your next opportunity.

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What is a Medical Records Custodian?

Simply put, a medical records custodian or custodian of medical records is a person or company that has been designated to securely store and manage a patient’s private healthcare records when the original medical practice closes. Contracting with a medical records custodian allows doctors to be free of legal obligations to fulfill future medical record requests from patients.

Why Choose Desert River Solutions as Your Custodian of 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 medical records storage 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.

We pride ourselves on delivering the best customer service we possibly can to both physicians and patients. Our goal is to help physicians and medical practices efficiently and easily meet their legal requirements for document retention – even when they’re ready to move on to other opportunities. 

For practices that are closing and doctors who’re retiring, choosing Desert River Solutions to manage your records means you’ll have peace of mind that your records are in the experienced hands of a company founded by a physician for physicians.

Older female physician smiling at the medical records custodian. Other doctors and medical staff look at medical records in the background

Worry Free Release of Information

Handoff your medical records and legal retention obligation to a custodian of record who you can trust to respond to patient requests from a customer-first perspective.

Experts in HIPAA & Data Security

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.

Easy On-Boarding Process

From notifying patients that we're your custodian of medical records to providing us with your patient files, we'll walk you through the medical records custodian process step-by-step.

Patients Get Quick Access to Medical Records

We know how important it is for patients to have quick access to their medical records when they need them, and will quickly deliver records in a convenient electronic method.

Medical Record Retention Laws

Click on a state to learn more about the Medical Record Retention requirements in your area.

This should not be construed as legal advice. Please contact an attorney for your specific legal requirements as needed.

Easy Steps to a Physician’s Retirement

  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 your 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 request form, send back securely, and receive any requested medical record.
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Who is the medical records custodian?

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.

Benefits of a Medical Record Custodian

1. We handle your future medical record requests

All requests will be sent to Desert River Solutions, your medical records custodian company. 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 simple right? It is!

2. All medical records are scanned and/or exported

3. Enjoy your next adventure worry free

No need to worry about your medical records. We know the exact amount of time your state requires for your medical records to be kept  and will handle everything for you. You will be able to close your doors the right way.

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Call us today to find out how easy we can make fulfilling patient records requests, and get answers to all your medical records custodian questions.

Frequently Asked Questions

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.

A medical records custodian is a 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. Working with a custodian of medical records like Desert River Solutions will allow you to retire or close your medical without any ongoing records management obligations.

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.

We will provide you with guidance on what to communicate to your patients and easy template practice closure letters if desired.

Each state has its own guidelines for how long you will need to store your patient records. We follow all state and federal laws regarding document retention.

Yes. 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.

When you select a custodian of medical records, you will notify your patients by sending a letter and/or email, and also need to notify your state medical board.

Our medical records custodian team will happily walk you through this process.

In your patient letter, you will direct them towards our records requests page where the patient will find instructions on how to receive their medical records.

Your practice will have a custom landing page they can visit to start the records request process. This will give them the peace of mind that they're in the right place.