Should abbreviations be used in health records

Federal Stance on Medical Records

Federal requirements set a minimum of 6 years for both hospital and medical records.

This is the basic HIPAA regulation, but some states do not use this as a guideline. Most states do adhere to this rule though, and often are more stringent or at par in terms of their legislature.

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Federal guidelines also set the basic structure for the necessary destruction of records, such as those that have to do with abortions, ambulatory services, rehabilitation, veteran affairs, diagnostics, and comprehensive outpatient facilities.

States With More Stringent Retention Periods

As with most healthcare requirements, there are general rules and guidelines that are set on a federal level to ensure each state can build upon this structure.

Some states prefer to keep it simple and follow federal guidelines, while others have different interpretations or more stringent rules.

Connecticut, for instance, is much more stringent in its approach to the law.

While certain states adopt the HIPAA guideline that 6 years is eno

how many years should i keep medical records

how long should i keep health records