Elimination procedure of medical records

Abstract

The French 2006-6 edict established new rules concerning duration of medical records retention. Hospitals have to optimize their storage space. This article presents the current procedure of medical files elimination in their hospital. Medical files are managed at hospital central Archives at an authorized host site. They are classified by medical discipline. So updating duration of retention is necessary before eliminating files. Longer durations are defined for particular diseases. A sample is taken for historic preservation. In 2015, 12800 records were destroyed (233 linear meters). This represents 57% of potential destructible records, 20% of files are updated and 22% of files are kept longer. However the released place do not ensure the annual linear increase. The updating of multi-specialty or outsourced records and management of special cases (deceased donors, deliveries under X, genetic records) induce additional costs that may limit the elimination. The destruction of computerized medical records will be anticipated. The editors have not included yet the full lifecycle of the records.