Revenue Cycle Insider

Question: Because our clinic is relocating in a few months, we are working on digitalizing all of our old patient records and looking to destroy any paper files before the move. What’s the safest legal way to dispose of paper records?

Alabama Subscriber

Answer: When disposing of protected health information (PHI) in the form of paper records, consider shredding, burning, pulping, or pulverizing the records so the PHI is rendered unreadable, indecipherable, and in no way can be reconstructed.

Ideally, your office would carry out destruction on the premises to minimize the risk of unintentional exposure during transit. There are also outside companies you can hire to do this if you feel the job is too big for your office — but be sure the company you hire is reputable.

Tip: For additional tips on safe disposal methods, please visit the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) FAQ section on PHI disposal.

Lindsey Bush, BA, MA, CPC, Production Editor, AAPC