Medical Records Destruction: A Complete Guide for Perth Healthcare Providers

Healthcare Records: Special Requirements

Medical records contain some of the most sensitive personal information that exists. For healthcare providers in Western Australia, proper retention and destruction isn't just best practice—it's a legal requirement with serious consequences for non-compliance.

WA Health Records Retention Requirements

Different types of medical records have varying retention requirements:

Adult Patient Records

• General records: Minimum 7 years from last service
• Mental health records: 15 years minimum
• Hospital records: 25 years from last service

Paediatric Records

• Until patient reaches 25 years of age
• Or 7 years after last service (whichever is longer)

Deceased Patients

• 7 years from date of death

Why Secure Destruction Matters in Healthcare

Medical record breaches can result in:

• Fines up to $2.22 million per individual breach
• Medical Board disciplinary action
• Loss of professional registration
• Civil lawsuits from affected patients
• Reputational damage to practice

The Secure Destruction Process

WEST SHRED provides healthcare-specific destruction services:

1. Compliant Collection - Secure bins placed in practice areas 2. Chain of Custody - Every document tracked from pickup to destruction 3. Cross-Cut Shredding - Minimum P-4 security level for medical records 4. Certificates of Destruction - Detailed documentation for compliance records

Medical Record Destruction Checklist

Before destroying medical records, ensure:

• Retention period has expired
• No ongoing legal matters involve the records
• Patient hasn't been transferred (records may need forwarding)
• Digital backups exist if required
• Destruction is properly documented

Digital Medical Records

For electronic health records (EHR), secure destruction includes:

• Hard drive degaussing or physical destruction
• Secure deletion with verification
• Certificate of digital destruction
• Destruction of backup media

WEST SHRED handles both paper and digital medical record destruction to ensure complete compliance.