An Act RELATIVE TO HOSPITAL AND CLINIC MEDICAL RECORD RETENTION.
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House
of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the
same, as follows:
SECTION 1. The first paragraph of section 70 of said chapter 111, as appearing in the 2006 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the second and third sentences and inserting in place thereof the following 4 sentences-
Such records may be
handwritten, printed, typed or in electronic digital media or converted to
electronic digital media as originally created by such hospital or clinic, by
the photographic or microphotographic process, or any combination thereof.
Such hospital or clinic may only destroy records after notifying the department
of public health and the patient that the applicable retention period has
elapsed and the records will be destroyed. Such notification shall occur
through appropriate notice, which may include, but shall not be limited to, the
hospital or clinic’s privacy notice, that records will be destroyed after the
applicable retention period has elapsed. Such hospital or clinic shall
further provide information through applicable provisions contained in the
hospital or clinic notice of privacy practices that records will be terminated
after the applicable retention period has elapsed since the last date of
service.
SECTION 2. Said
section 70 of said chapter 111, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by
striking out, in line 66, the word “thirty” and inserting in place thereof the
following figure:- 15.
SECTION 3. Section 36 of chapter
123 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding the
following 4 sentences:-
Each facility, subject to this chapter and section 19 of chapter 19, that provides
mental health care and treatment shall maintain patient records, as defined in
the first paragraph of section 70 of chapter 111, for at least 15 years after
the closing of the record due to discharge, death or last date of
service. No facility shall destroy such records unless it first provides
notice to the department of public health and to patients that the applicable
retention period has elapsed and that records will be destroyed. The
means of providing such notice shall include, but not be limited to, the
provision of the hospital or clinic’s privacy notice that records will be
destroyed after the applicable retention period has elapsed. A facility
shall further provide information through a provision of the hospital or clinic
notice of privacy practices that records will be terminated after the
applicable retention period has elapsed after the last date of service.