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system to ensure the prompt location of a patient’s medical record. (g) The facility must ensure that a transfer summary, signed by the physician or other practitioner responsible for treatment, accompanies the patient, or is sent by electronic mail or facsimile transmission to the receiving facility or unit, if the patient is transferred to another facility or is transferred to a nursing or intermediate care service unit within the same facility. The transfer summary must include essential information relative to the patient’s diagnosis, condition, medications, treatments, dietary requirement, known allergies, and treatment plan. (h) Each facility subject to the provisions of this section, with the exception of an ambulatory surgical facility and a frontier extended stay clinic, must employ the services of a health information administrator who is registered by the American Health Information Management Association or a records technician who is accredited by the American Health Information Management Association to supervise the medical record service. If the administrator or technician is a consultant only, the administrator or technician must visit the facility not less than biannually to organize and evaluate the operation of the service and to provide written reports to the medical record service and the administration of the facility. (i) The facility must safely preserve patient records for at least seven years after discharge of the patient, except that

(1) x-ray films or reproductions of films must be kept for at least five years after discharge of the patient; and

(2) the records of minors must be kept until the minor has reached the age of 21 years, or seven years after discharge, whichever is longer. (j) If a facility ceases operation, the facility must inform the department within 48 hours before ceasing operations of the arrangements made for safe preservation of patient records as required in this section. The facility must have a policy for the preservation of patients’ medical records in the event of the closure of the facility. (k) If ownership of the facility changes, the previous licensee and the new licensee shall, before the change of ownership, provide the department with written documentation that

(1) the new licensee will have custody of the patient’s records upon transfer of ownership, and that the records are available to both the new and former licensee and other authorized persons; or

(2) arrangements have been made for the safe preservation of patients’ records, as required in this section, and the records are available to the new and former licensees and other authorized persons. (Eff. 11/19/83, Register 88; am 5/4/97, Register 142; am 12/3/2006, Register 180; am 5/24/2007, Register 182) Statutory Authority: