PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

Summary

If a health care business files for bankruptcy under chapter 7, 9, or 11 and the trustee cannot afford to store patient records as required by law, the trustee must quickly put a notice in one or more newspapers and try to contact each patient and, if allowed, their insurer. During the first 180 days after the notice, the trustee must mail a letter to the patient’s last known address (or a family contact) and to the insurer. The notice must say that records not claimed within 365 days will be destroyed. At the end of that 365-day period, the trustee must send a certified letter to each relevant Federal agency asking permission to deposit the records with that agency, but the agency does not have to accept them. If no one claims the records and no agency will take them, the trustee must destroy paper records by shredding or burning and must destroy electronic records so they cannot be recovered.

Title 11, §351

Bankruptcy, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

If a health care business commences a case under chapter 7, 9, or 11, and the trustee does not have a sufficient amount of funds to pay for the storage of patient records in the manner required under applicable Federal or State law, the following requirements shall apply:

(1)The trustee shall—

(A)promptly publish notice, in 1 or more appropriate newspapers, that if patient records are not claimed by the patient or an insurance provider (if applicable law permits the insurance provider to make that claim) by the date that is 365 days after the date of that notification, the trustee will destroy the patient records; and

(B)during the first 180 days of the 365-day period described in subparagraph (A), promptly attempt to notify directly each patient that is the subject of the patient records and appropriate insurance carrier concerning the patient records by mailing to the most recent known address of that patient, or a family member or contact person for that patient, and to the appropriate insurance carrier an appropriate notice regarding the claiming or disposing of patient records.

(2)If, after providing the notification under paragraph (1), patient records are not claimed during the 365-day period described under that paragraph, the trustee shall mail, by certified mail, at the end of such 365-day period a written request to each appropriate Federal agency to request permission from that agency to deposit the patient records with that agency, except that no Federal agency is required to accept patient records under this paragraph.

(3)If, following the 365-day period described in paragraph (2) and after providing the notification under paragraph (1), patient records are not claimed by a patient or insurance provider, or request is not granted by a Federal agency to deposit such records with that agency, the trustee shall destroy those records by—

(A)if the records are written, shredding or burning the records; or

(B)if the records are magnetic, optical, or other electronic records, by otherwise destroying those records so that those records cannot be retrieved.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section effective 180 days after Apr. 20, 2005, and not applicable with respect to cases commenced under this title before such

Effective Date

, except as otherwise provided, see section 1501 of Pub. L. 109–8, set out as an

Effective Date

of 2005 Amendment note under section 101 of this title.

§351 Disposal of Patient Records

Summary

Title 11, §351

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Effective Date

Effective Date

Citations & Metadata