Ask HRC: Medical Record Retention after Closure or Merger

A Healthcare Risk Control (HRC) member recently asked how long a healthcare organization needs to retain medical and other records after it has been closed or has merged with another provider. Here is how HRC responded:

When a hospital or other healthcare facility goes out of business, is acquired by, or merges with another provider, state law generally addresses the retention of medical records to ensure that the affected patients have access to their records for a certain prescribed period. There are also federal business record retention requirements...