Your Essential Guide to Medical Record Destruction
As a healthcare provider, your primary role is patient care, but your responsibilities also extend to safeguarding their private information. Securely managing and destroying patient records is a critical part of this duty. Federal and regional laws, like HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) in the U.S. and PIPEDA in Canada, mandate strict protocols to protect patient privacy.
While retention periods vary by state or province, all healthcare facilities must eventually dispose of outdated records. When that time comes, simply throwing them away isn’t just risky—it’s illegal. Partnering with a professional shredding company is the only way to ensure compliance and maintain patient trust.
3 Essential Tips for Proper Medical Record Destruction
Shredding is the industry standard for secure document disposal because it’s effective, convenient, and verifiable. Here’s how to ensure your facility handles medical record destruction correctly.
- Implement a Secure Chain of Custody: Never toss documents containing Protected Health Information (PHI)—such as names, addresses, or social security numbers—into a recycling or trash bin. Doing so can lead to a data breach and expose your facility to severe fines. Instead, establish clear safety protocols. Use locked collection containers for all sensitive documents awaiting destruction. Setting up a routine service program with a certified shredding partner ensures all staff members follow a consistent, compliant process for handling confidential records.
- Don’t Forget Digital and Electronic Records: The same stringent disposal rules that apply to paper records also apply to electronic PHI (ePHI). Simply deleting files or reformatting a hard drive is not enough, as data can often be recovered. Old computers, servers, backup tapes, and USB drives must be physically destroyed. A professional shredding company can handle hard drive destruction, providing you with a Certificate of Destruction afterward. This certificate serves as your official proof of compliance.
- Partner with a Certified Shredding Expert: Your patients’ privacy is too important to leave to chance. When choosing a partner, look for a NAID AAA Certified company. This certification means the company adheres to the highest security standards in the industry for both paper and electronic media destruction. Whether you prefer the convenience of having documents destroyed on-site with a mobile shredding truck or at a secure off-site facility, a professional service gives you peace of mind.
Choose a trusted NAID AAA Certified company to address all your paper and digital media shredding needs. Call TITAN Mobile Shredding and speak to our data destruction professionals at (866) 848-2699 today or contact us online to request your free quote.
