To assure a continuity of care and privacy protection for patients, a closing hospital must properly plan for the custodial care of patient records following closure. Prior to archiving records, the hospital should attempt to inform patients about how and where to obtain a copy of their records.

Clary will take custody of and securely store all paper charts and electronic patient records. Clary’s HIM staff will process all future requests for medical records. Patient records are distributed to patients in accordance with all state and federal guidelines. Once the retention period has expired, all records are destroyed.

If patients have electronic, as well as paper records, requested information is extracted from the electronic record and matched with relevant information from the paper chart.