State and federal laws generally determine requirements for how long medical records must be kept, according to the The Joint Commission. Here are four additional clarifications on standards.
1. Legal and risk management leadership should determine state-specific medical record retention requirements.
2. Certain records not considered part of the permanent patient record may still be subject to state and/or federal retention requirements.
3. Crash cart daily checks, temperature monitoring logs, employee file documents and meeting agendas and minutes are examples of documents not considered part of a patient's medical record.
4. Surveyors expect compliance with local, state and federal requirements and require organizations to have records dating back to the last full survey available.