{"id":1767,"date":"2025-03-20T10:22:41","date_gmt":"2025-03-20T03:22:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thientanpaper.vn\/process-of-destroying-expired-medical-records-in-accordance-with-the-ministry-of-health-regulations\/"},"modified":"2026-07-10T16:41:56","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T09:41:56","slug":"process-of-destroying-expired-medical-records-in-accordance-with-the-ministry-of-health-regulations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/minhthanhpaper.vn\/en\/process-of-destroying-expired-medical-records-in-accordance-with-the-ministry-of-health-regulations\/","title":{"rendered":"PROCESS OF DESTROYING EXPIRED MEDICAL RECORDS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH REGULATIONS"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n
\n

Medical records are documents that store information about a patient’s health status and treatment process during their visits to healthcare facilities. These records are essential for patient management, scientific research, financial control, and forensic assessment support. The destruction of expired medical records (EMR) is a crucial process in medical information management, ensuring compliance with legal regulations and the protection of patient confidentiality.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

I. When is the destruction of medical records permitted?<\/b><\/p>\n


\n<\/b><\/p>\n

Medical records may be destroyed once they have exceeded the legally mandated retention period, as stipulated in Circular No. 53\/2017\/TT-BYT dated December 29, 2017. The specific retention periods for medical records are as follows:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • For general inpatient and outpatient medical records: 10 years.<\/li>\n
  • For medical records related to occupational or domestic accidents: 15 years.<\/li>\n
  • For forensic psychiatric evaluation records: 20 years from the date the evaluation is completed.<\/li>\n
  • For medical records of deceased patients: 20 years.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Once the retention period has expired and the records are determined to no longer be of use, they may be destroyed.<\/p>\n

    II. Purpose of Destroying Expired Medical Records<\/b><\/p>\n


    \n<\/b><\/p>\n

    The destruction of expired medical records aims to:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • Ensure information confidentiality: Medical records contain sensitive personal and medical information. Improper disposal can lead to data leaks and violations of patient privacy.<\/li>\n
    • Comply with legal regulations: According to Vietnamese law, medical records must be retained for a specified period. Once this period expires, destruction is mandatory to prevent unnecessary storage.<\/li>\n
    • Reduce storage space burden: Hospitals and healthcare facilities handle a vast number of medical records. Destroying expired records helps free up storage space and optimize the management of new records.<\/li>\n
    • Improve record management efficiency: Eliminating records that are no longer valuable makes it easier and faster to search for and manage active records.<\/li>\n
    • Protect the environment: Proper disposal methods for medical records help minimize waste and reduce negative environmental impacts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

       <\/p>\n

      III. Principles of Destroying Expired Medical Records<\/b><\/p>\n

      The destruction of expired medical records must adhere to the following principles:<\/p>\n

        \n
      • Ensure compliance with proper procedures and legal regulations.<\/li>\n
      • Expired medical records must be reviewed by the Document Evaluation Council of the organization and assessed by the higher-level archival management authority before an authorized person issues the destruction decision.<\/li>\n
      • The destruction process must completely eliminate all information in the medical records, preventing any possibility of recovery or data leakage.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

         <\/p>\n

        IV. Process of Destroying Expired Medical Records<\/b><\/p>\n

        <\/p>\n

        <\/h3>\n

        The process of destroying expired medical records consists of the following steps:<\/p>\n

        Step 1: Selection and Listing of Expired Medical Records<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

        The list of expired medical records is a compilation of documents identified for destruction. This list is created in two cases:<\/p>\n

          \n
        • After the completion of file organization and classification, records identified as expired are listed for evaluation and destruction.<\/li>\n
        • Medical records that have exceeded their retention period in an institution\u2019s archives are identified and listed for evaluation and destruction.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          Step 2: Submission to Agency Leadership for Approval<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

          Once the list of expired medical records is prepared, the archivist submits it to the leadership of the agency or unit for review and approval.<\/p>\n

          Step 3: Preparation of an Explanatory Report<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

          An explanatory report is created to justify the destruction of medical records, including the legal basis and reasons for their disposal.<\/p>\n

          Step 4: Establishment of the Document Evaluation Council<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

          A Document Evaluation Council is formed to review, assess, and approve the destruction of expired medical records.<\/p>\n

          Step 5: Execution of the Destruction Process<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

          Upon receiving the destruction approval, the expired medical records are disposed of using secure and confidential methods such as incineration, shredding, or pulping to ensure complete data elimination.<\/p>\n

          Step 6: Documentation and Record-Keeping of the Destruction Process<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

          A destruction record must be created and retained by the agency or institution where the records were destroyed. This record must be stored for at least 20 years from the date of destruction.<\/p>\n

          Following this structured destruction process not only ensures legal compliance but also protects patient confidentiality and enhances the efficiency of medical record management in healthcare facilities.<\/p>\n

          If you have any concerns regarding the destruction process or require professional services for the secure disposal of expired medical records, contact MINH THANH<\/strong>\u00a0at Hotline: 0906 36 3838 – 0903 346 777<\/strong> for detailed consultation.<\/p>\n

          <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          Medical records are documents that store information about a patient’s health status and treatment process during their visits to healthcare […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1767","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/minhthanhpaper.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1767","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/minhthanhpaper.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/minhthanhpaper.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/minhthanhpaper.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/minhthanhpaper.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1767"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/minhthanhpaper.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1767\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/minhthanhpaper.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1767"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/minhthanhpaper.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1767"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/minhthanhpaper.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1767"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}