It related to the question of how long to keep records for. There are several organizations that have out recommendations on this such as the american society of health information managment. Facilities should consider having a policy that specifies how long to retain or keep the medical records. These are known as retention periods.
Many states have their own state specific law.
Many hospitals and other facilities have one policy that lists all records and documents in their facility and not just medical records. According to the proposed privacy regulation, Documents relating to uses and disclosures, authorization forms, business partner contracts, notices of your information practice, responses to a patient who wants to amend or correct their information, the patient's statement of disagreement, and a complaint record must be maintained for 6 years. Facilities should also give consideration to the statute of limitation, or time period for suing, in determining their retention policy. Many facilities will retain the medical records of minors for longer periods of time, sometimes until they are at least 21 years of age. The medical records should be retained for a patient who institutes a malpractice or wrongful suit against the facility.