Q&A: Destroying records after they are scanned into the EMR

Q: In a previous question, it was said that if your state considers electronic storage media legally acceptable for medical records, you can destroy the paper records as soon as they are scanned into the electronic medical record (EMR) and reviewed for quality. Where can the policy be found that shows records can be destroyed as soon as they are scanned into the EMR? Would this be mentioned in the state law? Or would a hospital presume that it is acceptable to destroy paper records after they are scanned into the EMR if electronic storage media is legally acceptable for medical records in its state?

A: There are likely few laws out there that specify how quickly you can destroy scanned medical records. State law, for the most part, includes how long you need to retain documentation but not how quickly it can be destroyed after the end of its legal life. Most CEs retain documents that have been scanned for 30 days. That provides time to validate that the scanned documents have been fully scanned and have not been corrupted in the scanning process. In states where there is no requirement to retain documents that have been scanned for a set period of time, the key is to make sure that the scanned documents match the originals before destroying the originals.

Editor’s note: Chris Apgar is president of Apgar & Associates, LLC, in Portland, Oregon. He is also a BOH editorial advisory board member. This information does not constitute legal advice. Consult legal counsel for answers to specific privacy and security questions. Opinions expressed are those of the author and do not represent HCPro or ACDIS. Email your HIPAA questions to Associate Editor Heidi Samuelson at hsamuelson@hcpro.com.