Medical offices throughout the country are being targeted for the conversion of their data for illegal purposes. Most of what we hear about in the news concerns data breaches experienced by large corporations, involving information belonging to millions of individuals. Although these breaches affect many more people, they make privacy efforts of individual and group practitioners no less important.» Read More
The all-too-common experience of a patient refusing treatment or testing, or simply being non-compliant has become rampant. In order for practitioners to protect themselves, medical documentation must be more diligent than ever. Patient non-compliance can result in a multitude of negative ramifications to the practitioner.» Read More
In New Jersey, a physician is required to maintain treatment records for seven years from the date of the most recent entry; however, questions always arise about how long a physician must retain medical records for a minor.
The State Board of Medical Examiners does not differentiate between minor and adult patients, and simply sets a seven-year retention requirement. » Read More
As most physician practices move towards implementing EHR systems and technologies, medical offices are often prompted to decide whether or not to dispose of old medical records for inactive patients. The question of how long a physician must maintain patient medical records depends on a variety of business and legal factors, as outlined below.» Read More
In a recent case, Filefax, a medical record storage, maintenance, and delivery company, paid the US Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Civil Rights (“OCR”) $100,000 to settle claims of HIPAA violations even after the company went out of business. » Read More
