Overview:

Today's health care delivery occurs in a diverse, fast-changing, multidisciplinary health care environment. This often presents challenges to the health care professional that are not easy to navigate. Medical records and their confidentiality have long been the exclusive province of state law, but has now been recognized for some time in the federal HIPAA statutes and federal regulations.

Differing and even conflicting sources of requirements at the state level still exist for the retention and disposition of medical records. These sources may vary based upon the specific health care practitioner - whether physicians, dentists, psychologists, or other health care providers, including mental health practitioners. As to the specific, individual health care practitioner, state laws mandate their confidentiality, retention, and even their specific content with regards to patient, clinical records.

In addition to these clinical requirements, additional state laws set forth the content and retention of other types of records kept by the professional, such as supervisory agreements with other professionals subordinate to them as well as their own unique record content requirements.

With the majority of medical records moving to an electronic format, special rules now exist with regard to the confidentiality, security, retention, and disposition of electronic medical records. This is particularly important as state laws continue to allow for and regulate the provision of telemedicine by various health care practitioners.

For example, while psychotherapy and mental health services are ideal treatments to offer over the internet, that is, by simultaneous audio-visual transmission between the doctor and the patient, the risks of breaches of confidentiality also vastly increase. And when the successful doctor-patient relationship is over, how does the health care practitioner providing a mental health service dispose of these electronic records?

In addition to the sources of rules that govern the confidentiality, retention, and disposition of medical records, there are other sources of requirements for compliance with facility laws and contractual agreements, such as for professional malpractice insurance.

In addition to state law requirements for the specific retention and disposition of clinical medical records, how long should the health care practitioner retain records for the possible, future defense of a malpractice claim for negligent treatment? Or to retain such medical records when the patient is a minor? Or to defend a possible complaint and disciplinary action by a state regulatory agency which could revoke the professional license of the practitioner?

Learn to identify and apply these differing and conflicting rules and contractual requirements with respect to the specific health care practitioner, the specific health care facility practice, and the emerging rules and regulations for electronic medical records confidentiality, security, and disposition. This program offers an objective, thorough review of the sources of requirements for the retention and disposition of medical records as well as instruction for the individual health care practitioner and the health care facility as an organization.

For the individual health care practitioner, learn the importance of a professional will and business succession plan in the event of the practitioner's withdrawal from practice, incapacity, or death.

Mark R. Brengelman, Attorney at Law, brings over twenty years' experience in administrative and regulatory law, including seventeen years as Assistant Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, to this overview of medical records requirements, retention, and disposition. Having worked with over a dozen professional regulatory licensure boards, and having prosecuted hundreds of professional disciplinary actions against a variety of health care practitioners, Mark brings a unique perspective to this presentation.

Why should you attend: Working in today's diverse, fast-changing, multidisciplinary health care environment often presents challenges to the professional that are not easy to navigate. Differing and even conflicting sources of requirements exist for the retention and disposition of medical records, which may vary based upon the specific health care practitioner. With the majority of medical records moving to an electronic format, special rules now exist with regard to the confidentiality, security, retention, and disposition of electronic medical records.

Learn to identify and apply these differing and conflicting rules with respect to the specific health care practitioner, the specific health care facility practice, and the emerging rules and regulations for electronic medical records confidentiality, security, and disposition. This program offers an objective, thorough review of the sources of requirements for the retention and disposition of medical records as well as instruction for the individual health care practitioner and the health care facility as an organization.

Areas Covered in the Session:

• Sources of legal requirements for medical records retention;
• Sources of contractual requirements for medical records retention;
• What information is mandated to be in a specific health care practitioner's medical record;
• Facility rules as applied to the individual health care practitioner;
• Electronic records confidentiality, retention, and disposition;
• Professional wills and business succession plans for the health care practitioner to govern the retention of medical records;
• Reasons for creating and implementing a medical records policy for the health care practitioner's withdrawal from practice, incapacity, or death

• Individual Health Care Practitioners
• Health Care Attorneys
• Corporate Counsel in Health Care
• Medical Records Directors