Massachusetts Record Retention Law- Differs for Physicians Offices and Hospitals

The implementation of the EHR created an opportunity to change the law on how long records should be kept.  Hospitals in the state of Massachusetts were required to keep records for 30 yrs; this was recently reduced to 20 yrs for hospitals.  The cost of storage can be a major financial burden.  Below is a quote taken from healthinfolaw.org 

Massachusetts also sets forth requirements for the maintenance of medical records by heath clinics. Health clinics must maintain patient medical records for 20 years after final discharge or treatment of the patient. Medical records can be in any format, but handwritten or typed records that have been converted into an electronic format can be destroyed before the 20 year period. When the records are destroyed, they must preserve patient confidentiality. The clinic must give 30 days’ notice to the patient to inform him or her that the medical record will be destroyed.4 Massachusetts law also expressly states that nursing homes and community health clinics must satisfy the minimum rules of recordkeeping set forth by the Department of Health.5Read more about the Law