Records of Physicians on Retirement

A patient's records may be necessary to the patient in the future not only for medical care but also for employment, insurance, litigation, or other reasons. Therefore, the WSMA believes that when a physician retires or dies, patients should be notified and urged to find a new physician and should be informed that upon authorization, records will be sent to the new physician. Records which may be of value to a patient and which are not forwarded to a new physician should be retained, either by the physician him/herself, another physician, or such other person lawfully permitted to act as a custodian of the records. (JC 7.03-87) (Reaffirmed A-17)

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Abbreviations for House of Delegates report origination:

EC – Executive Committee; BT – Board of Trustees; CPA – Council on Professional Affairs; JC – Judicial Council; CHS – Community and Health Services