Medical records often kept indefinitely include immunizations, significant health event records (e.g., cancer treatment, chronic conditions), records for incompetent patients, and, in some jurisdictions, master patient indexes. While most records are kept 7–10 years, these specific, critical documents are retained for long-term health monitoring and legal, safety, or continuity of care reasons.
immunization records, which should be kept indefinitely; records of significant health events or conditions and interventions that could be expected to have a bearing on the patient's future health care needs, such as records of chemotherapy.
Arkansas: Adult hospital records 10 years after discharge; master patient index permanent. California: At least 7 years after discharge; minors until age 19 or longer.
To find your medical records, first check your provider's online patient portal (like MyChart), then contact individual doctors, clinics, or hospitals directly to request records via release forms for missing info, or use health aggregation apps like OneRecord to pull data from different providers into one place. Federal law (HIPAA) gives you the right to access these records, often requiring a signed authorization form for copies, and while electronic records may be free, fees might apply for paper copies or mailing, according to HHS.gov and Verywell Health.
Keep Forever
Medical records aren't kept forever. Hospitals often retain them for 7–10 years, but timelines vary by provider, state law, and record type. Pediatric and electronic records may be stored differently—and can still be lost, purged, or archived without notice.
CMS requires that providers submitting cost reports retain all patient records for at least five years after the closure of the cost report. And if you're a Medicare managed care program provider, CMS requires that you retain the patient records for 10 years.
Documents that define your personal and financial life—like your birth certificate, marriage license and tax returns—should be kept forever. Hold on to records that support information on your tax returns for seven years. Digitizing and shredding your paper documents can cut the risk of fraud and identity theft.
A Medicare Summary Notice (MSN) is a document that summarizes the healthcare services and supplies you received through Medicare. MSNs track what Medicare paid and any amount you may owe. You should keep your summary notices for at least one to three years and shred them once they're no longer useful.
What to Keep
The Medicare 2-Midnight Rule is a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services(CMS) guideline for hospital admissions, stating that if a doctor expects a patient to need hospital care crossing at least two midnights, the stay generally qualifies for Medicare Part A inpatient payment;
For example many medical institutions have a retention policy period of three to seven years. This can provide a good general rule of thumb. It's also a good idea to consider the immediate needs, legal requirements, and family preferences when setting a document retention policy for your deceased loved one.
California. Hospitals in California must keep adult patient records for seven years after the last discharge date. Healthcare employees must keep the records of minors at least seven years after the most recent discharge date or one year after the patient turns 18 (whichever is longer).
Healthcare providers must follow strict legal requirements to retain patient records, ensuring you can still access them when needed. Here's what happens to your medical records when a practice closes: Doctors generally store your records for at least 6 years from the last date of the treatment.
Federal law mandates that a provider keep and retain each record for a minimum of seven years from the date of last service to the patient.
Other records such as tax rolls, audit records, open meeting minutes and agendas, court dockets, and budgets—each historical in their own way—are also permanent due to their status as essential records needed in the efficient running of a government.
The 7 year rule
No tax is due on any gifts you give if you live for 7 years after giving them - unless the gift is part of a trust. This is known as the 7 year rule.
9 Paper Documents You Should Keep Forever in Their Original Form
No single doctor can automatically see all your medical history from every provider, but they can access records from facilities within their network or system, and with your permission, can request records from outside sources, often using Health Information Exchanges (HIEs) for a comprehensive view, though sharing outside treatment requires specific authorizations under laws like HIPAA.
To find your medical records, first check your provider's online patient portal (like MyChart), then contact individual doctors, clinics, or hospitals directly to request records via release forms for missing info, or use health aggregation apps like OneRecord to pull data from different providers into one place. Federal law (HIPAA) gives you the right to access these records, often requiring a signed authorization form for copies, and while electronic records may be free, fees might apply for paper copies or mailing, according to HHS.gov and Verywell Health.