Should I Keep Old Medical Records?

Some experts suggest keeping other records for five years after the end of treatment. Be sure to shred — not just toss — anything with your personal information, such as your health insurance ID number, to help prevent medical identity theft by trash-picking crooks.

How many years of medical records should you keep?

Regulations & Record Retention

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. For Medicare Advantage patients, it goes up to ten years.

Are medical records destroyed after 7 years?

Avant recommends that all doctors retain the complete medical record of an adult patient for at least seven years from “the date of last entry” in the record.