A secure document destruction strategy is important for doctors and other medical professionals.
Your patient’s life is in your hands, and your filing cabinets. Trust is a vital part of the doctor-patient relationship. Your patients need to know that the information that they disclose to you will be kept private. Without this confidence, you cannot treat your patient to the best of your abilities. The disposal of medical records is the responsibility of a medical practitioner.
Here are some of the documents that you may have:
– Your patient’s personal medical history including their sexual history and medical procedures
– Medication history
– Test results from blood work, x-rays and scans
– Mental health history
Aside from that, you may have sensitive information such as:
– Your patient’s health insurance number
– Your patient’s name, address and phone number
– The tax file numbers of your patients and employees
How long you retain these medical records varies according to your state.
Aside from the Hippocratic oath, a professional shredding service will ensure that none of your patient’s information will fall into the wrong hands. This is the best way to dispose of your documents securely.
It offers you peace of mind. When you destroy your documents, you will be issued a Destruction certificate. This is important because there are laws in Australia stating that health care records must be disposed of in a manner that preserves the privacy and confidentiality of any information they contain. When large volumes of paper are involved, the legislation highlights that specialized services for the safe disposal of confidential material should be employed.
It saves you time and effort. Think of the opportunity cost of shredding 500 patient case files. A professional paper shredding service allows you to focus on what you do best: providing quality health care services.
All documents are recycled. Lower your environmental impact.
