2007 Minnesota Statutes

145.32 OLD RECORDS MAY BE DESTROYED.
    Subdivision 1. Hospital records. The superintendent or other chief administrative officer
of any public or private hospital, by and with the consent and approval of the board of directors
or other governing body of the hospital, may divest the files and records of that hospital of any
individual case records bearing dates more than three years prior to the date of the divestiture
and, with that consent and approval, may destroy the records. The records shall first have been
transferred and recorded as authorized in section 145.30.
Portions of individual hospital medical records that comprise an individual permanent
medical record, as defined by the commissioner of health, shall be retained as authorized in
section 145.30. Other portions of the individual medical record, including any miscellaneous
documents, papers, and correspondence in connection with them, may be divested and destroyed
after seven years without transfer to photographic film.
All portions of individual hospital medical records of minors shall be maintained for seven
years following the age of majority.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the retention of hospital medical records
beyond the periods described in this section. Nor shall anything in this section be construed to
prohibit patient access to hospital medical records as provided in sections 144.291 to 144.298.
    Subd. 2. Individual permanent medical record. (a) The commissioner of health shall
define by rule the term "individual permanent medical record" by enumerating the specific types
of records or other information that, at a minimum, must be maintained on a permanent basis
by the hospital.
(b) "Individual permanent medical record" includes outpatient diagnostic and laboratory
test results.
History: 1941 c 229 s 3; 1971 c 231 s 2; 1983 c 237 s 1; 1988 c 670 s 9; 2007 c 147 art
10 s 15