How long records of patients should be maintained? (Courtesy DR.K.K.Aggarwal)

·         As per the proposed / draft “Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Rules, 2010,  “Copies of all records and statistics shall be kept with the clinical establishment concerned for at least 3 or 5 years or in accordance with any other relevant Act in force at the time”.

·         As per Regulation 1.3.1 of the Indian Medical Council (Professional conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002, “Every physician shall maintain the medical records pertaining to his / her indoor patients for a period of 3 years from the date of commencement of the treatment in a standard proforma laid down by the Medical Council of India and attached as Appendix 3”.

·          As per Rule 6F (3) of the Income Tax Rules, 1962, doctors in private practice are required to  preserve the daily case register as per Form 3C for a period of six years from the end of the relevant assessment year. That would ordinarily mean for seven years from the close of the accounting year.

·          As per Punjab Medical Manual (1934), the medicolegal record is to be preserved for 12 years.

·          As per the DGHS vide letter No. 10-3/68-MH dated 31-8-68, records should be maintained as follows:

For inpatient medical records (case sheets)……………….10 years

For medico-legal registers…………………………………….10 years

For outpatient records………………………………………….5 years

The above requirement can be found in the “Hospital Manual” published in 2002 by the Directorate General of Health Services, MOHFW, GOI, in chapter 12 titled “Medical Record Services”.