Published on August 7, 2018
Any business, no matter in what kind of business, must be concerned about security In their confidential documents, but especially for the medical industry, keeping records is of the utmost importance. After decades of business, we see ourselves as experts in storage systems for medical records.
Not only must the safety of medical records be guaranteed, but there are rules on how long they must be kept and how they must be kept destroyed when the time comes.
Depending on the province, physicians usually have to keep medical records for at least 10 years for the last admission or from the time the patient reaches the age of the majority reached, whichever is later. In British Columbia, this minimum will be raised to 16 years.
One major reason for the need to keep records for so long is that a doctor or the estate of that doctor may give rise to these possibly medical-legal difficulties. For example, if a doctor or his estate is sued for problems related to his or her medical work, those records provide the best evidence of the doctor's interaction with his patient. Without such documents, the doctor can rely only on his memory, which may turn out to be wrong or incomplete.
The manner in which records are stored is important in certain medical records storage systems that do not provide adequate protection. Even the electronic management of patient records is not always as safe as it could be, since systems are usually designed so that anyone working in a hospital can access virtually the entire file.
This means that not only doctors and nurses, but also admins or other people involved in patient care have access to these records, and although the vast majority of them are totally trustworthy There may be individuals who, in the right circumstances, make use of this private information for their own benefit.
A primary concern with respect to the proper preservation of medical records is identity theft.
While most people are concerned about theft of credit card information, the theft and sale of health records is equally or even more damaging, and in the US in 2016 there were nine times more medical data hurt as financially records. But what makes medical records such a valuable target?
Your medical records contain a tremendous amount of information, including your family history, insurance information, demographics, medication lists, and more. All this provides more than enough information to steal your identity and use it for financial fraud, drug fraud, insurance fraud and a host of other potentially devastating crimes.
There is also the possibility that confidential information – such as the diagnosis of HIV or behavioral problems – can be used for extortion, for example if hackers have access to the records of a plastic surgery clinic London, which is aimed at celebrities. In this case, images and other information were stolen from celebrities, including royals, and hackers threatened to put everything online.
At the time when patient records are to be disposed of, they should be marked for disposal and kept in a safe place from all other records. If they are destroyed, this must be done in such a way that a reconstruction of the document is prevented. For example, it is recommended to destroy paper documents professionally. Electronic records must be permanently deleted from hard drives and other storage mechanisms. Hard disks must either be shredded or erased using a standard disk erase utility. At the same time backup copies with the originals must be destroyed.
There are a number of companies that can choose to keep medical records BC Records Management Services knows how important it is to have your documents Protect, and is a leader in protecting your confidential information.
With our reliable and professional services, you can be sure that your documents are handled correctly and safely. Contact us today to find out how we protect your documents.
