Establishment of a Publicly Accessible Database for Determining the Location of Medical Records of Retired or Relocated Physicians

MEDCHI, THE MARYLAND STATE MEDICAL SOCIETY
HOUSE OF DELEGATES

INTRODUCED BY: Montgomery County Medical Society

SUBJECT: Establishment of a Publicly Accessible Database for Determining the Location of Medical Records of Retired or Relocated Physicians

REFERRED TO:

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  1. Whereas, patients often face significant difficulties in locating their medical records after their

  2. physician has retired or relocated, especially when several years have passed since the

  3. physician left practice; and

  4.  
  5. Whereas, continuity of care and the ability to access historical medical records are critical to

  6. ensuring patients receive appropriate and timely medical treatment; and

  7.  
  8. Whereas, the lack of a centralized, publicly accessible database for locating medical records

  9. creates unnecessary barriers for patients and places a burden on them to navigate complex

  10. processes to retrieve their own health information; and

  11.  
  12. Whereas, patients may be unaware of where their medical records are stored after a physician

  13. retires or moves, leading to delays in obtaining important medical information for ongoing

  14. care; and

  15.  
  16. Whereas, many states have implemented policies or regulations requiring retired or relocated

  17. physicians to inform patients or state medical boards of the location of their medical records,

  18. but Maryland currently lacks a standardized, easily accessible system for this purpose; and 

  19.  
  20. Whereas, establishing a centralized database, which would contain no PHI, managed by the

  21. Maryland Board of Physicians, would streamline the process for patients to locate their

  22. medical records, reduce administrative burdens on healthcare providers, and enhance patient

  23. care; therefore be it

  24.  
  25. RESOLVED, that MedChi seek and/or support legislation or regulation that requires the

  26. Maryland Board of Physicians to establish and maintain a publicly accessible database where

  27. patients can easily find the location of their medical records and/or information on how to

  28. access the medical records of retired or relocated physicians; and that MedChi advocate for

  29. legislation and/or regulatory measures, if necessary, to require physicians who retire, relocate,

  30. or otherwise close their practice to inform the Maryland Board of Physicians of the storage

  31. location for patient medical records, to ensure this information is available in the database for

  32. a minimum of 7 years following the physician’s departure from practice.