// RECORDS MANAGEMENT
// RECORDS MANAGEMENT
MEDICAL RECORDS CUSTODIAN
MEDICAL RECORDS CUSTODIAN
Preparing to retire or close your medical practice?
Whether you’re a retiring physician, or the executor of the estate of a physician who has passed away, Emerald will help you by taking complete responsibility of maintaining Medical Records for the length of time required by law, which could be decades.
Our Medical Records Custodian Services cover all aspects of medical records management. Emerald responds to all calls from patients, guardians, lawyers, insurance companies and doctors; securely maintains and delivers Patient Charts; and even destroys Medical Charts in accordance with HIPAA and other regulations.
We have 22 years of experience providing Medical Records Scanning and Document Storage Services and can customize our service offering to address virtually any need.
What is a Custodian of Records?
A custodian of records has the responsibility of safeguarding records for the duration they are required to be protected, according to law. This responsibility may apply to paper files or Electronic Health Records (EHR). The length of time different types of files must be preserved varies to meet legal requirements imposed by the federal or state governments.
In the case of medical records, a records custodian aside from maintaining the integrity of the files, must protect the privacy of the individual according to HIPAA standards (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). HIPAA applies federal standards of privacy for the patient, ensuring that no medical information is given out without the patient’s consent.
Additionally, the custodian must protect paper, or digital records for periods of time indicated by law to ensure patient access if the patient has not already requested copies prior to the closing of the practice. Requests from the patient, physicians, family, or court will be handled by the custodian as indicated by the patient’s consent.
Easy, Quick Patient Notification
Assistance With Packing & Transportation
Transfer Assistance With Existing Electronic Systems
Reliable Future Request Processing
Our Four Step Process
1. Notify
We starts with the most important part of closing a medical practice – notifying patients. We help develop messaging to announce the closing of the practice so you can properly and timely inform patients, the applicable State Medical Board(s) and other key entities. This announcement will address how patients can obtain copies of their charts from Emerald.
2. Collect
Emerald provides or assists with all the services for preparing patient charts for storage. This includes packing paper charts and transporting them to our storage facility, as well as working with the appropriate IT professionals to export any Patient Charts that are currently stored in electronic format.
3. Store
Safe storage requires that the confidentiality of patient charts be protected. Emerald ensures records are securely and properly maintained for the necessary length of time. For over 20 years, Emerald has maintained the confidentiality and protected the most sensitive health, financial and other records for companies both large and small.
4. Release
Requests for patient charts from Emerald are released upon request from patients or an authorized representative. Following HIPAA release and payment, the records are sent electronically to the requestor through a secure portal that is password protected.