Iron Mountain, which stores some of the medical records generated by the closed Academy Medical Center, has notified various interested parties including the Pennsylvania Medical Society (PAMED) that it has no immediate plans to destroy those records.
PAMED began investigating this situation when Imaging Networks, Inc. sent a letter to about 3,800 community physicians in southeastern Pennsylvania regarding medical records for radiological medical procedures performed at Academy Medical Center that the physicians may have ordered for their patients.
Academy Medical Center discontinued operations in November of 2007. Since that time, some of its medical records have been stored by Iron Mountain. There has been an ongoing dispute between Imaging Networks and others as to ownership and control of the medical records, including responsibility for the storage cost.
Apparently frustrated by its inability to resolve that dispute, Imaging Networks notified patients and physicians who may have ordered images at Academy Medical Center that the records would be destroyed if not picked up by February 28.
In its notice to physicians, Imaging Networks asserts that the physicians who ordered the images taken at Academy Medical Center are legally responsible for the storage of the center’s medical records. The letter cites as support for its position two hospital regulations: 28 Pa. Code §§ 127.35 and 115.23 and implied that this legal interpretation has been confirmed by the State Board of Medicine.
PAMED believes that the community physicians should have no legal responsibility to store Academy Medical Center’s medical records simply because they ordered the medical procedures. The regulations cited by Imaging Networks pertain to hospitals and their responsibility to maintain records for radiological medical procedures at the hospital and are irrelevant to the situation at hand.
PAMED has communicated this position to staff for the State Board of Medicine and been advised that the State Board has not issued any opinion on this matter.
PAMED first reported on this situation last week. Since that time, Iron Mountain notified the interested parties of its present intention to continue to maintain the medical records in the hope that the dispute will be resolved. Iron Mountain indicated that it would provide at least two weeks notice before it changes its current position. PAMED will advise members of any such notice via an update to this story.
PAMED remains concerned about the patient care implications of appropriate storage and retrieval of the Academy Medical Center medical records and will continue to monitor this situation.
This is general legal information and is not intended as legal advice. Physicians should consult their attorney if they need legal guidance on this matter.