who gets medical records for dead/retired doctors offices?

[keithjones]

i need my immunization records from my childhood pediatrician for nursing school but he died several years ago (5-10yrs). I was thinking of contacting the local pediatric group but doubt that will lead anywhere.

[lpnstudentin2010, LPN]

that is a good question never thought of it before

[wooh, BSN, RN]

Health department in the town my husband grew up in had a record of his immunizations.

[mommyof2Tees]

You can also contact the Board Of Education or the High School you attended. They should have your records. My childhood Ped died many years ago, I just went to my present doctor who ran some blood test and was able to complete all the neccessaty paperwork that I needed to start at my community college.

[roseglasses]

I contacted my high school and they sent me their records, it was missing a few shots so i contacted my elementary school and got the rest; my dad did not know the name of the pediatrician i went to and my mom is not around to ask!

[caliotter3]

If all else fails get blood drawn by your doctor for titers. If your doctor orders the tests, your insurance company should pay for it. I just had mine done and my insurance company paid.

[Nursetastic]

If the location where he had his office is still operating, contact them. They may have purchased his practice when he passed away.

[2BSure]

I had this exact problem. Apparently the immunization records should be "with the State". They were not and as I didn't live in that state anymore (NY) I wasn't likely to get far with my inquiries.

If you cannot find them easily just get new immunizations. I got them from my county's public health for free -- the bonus being that these records are on the state's database now and it doesn't matter where my doctor or her records are, I will always be able to provide proof of vaccination.

[Multicollinearity, BSN, RN]

I'd just get titers done.

[morte, LPN, LVN]

mine was still practicing at the time....lol....i think he had hit 70 by then.....and he, in his yankeeness....said,you know just getting the shots is cheaper than getting titers.....so i did....even though he and i both knew i had had all of them.....

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

we learned this when i studied health information management. state laws regulate the retention of medical records.

if the doctor sells his practice the medical records can be passed on to the doctor who purchases the practice. there is usually some legal provision by state law that deceased or retired doctor's active files get sent to a designated public health department or the state medical association that will hold them for a specific time before destroying them. pediatric records generally have to be kept up to the age of majority of the child which is often 18 in most states and then the offices can destroy the records if they have not had any recent contact (usually within the last 3 years) with the patient. the reason pediatric files need to be held so long is because children can bring lawsuits against a lot of people for different things that happened to them as children requiring their medical records, but not until they reach the age of majority. normally, adult medical files only have to be held for 5 to 7 years depending on the state law before a doctor or hospital can legally destroy them, which they do to make space for more records.