Department / Division Page Number 1 of 4

EDUCATION, TRAINING AND RESEARCH Policy Number MED-DET-MRL-035

MEDICAL RECORDS AND LIBRARY Effective Date November 2002
PHILIPPINE HEART Title Date Reviewed May 2014
CENTER Date Revised March 2011
MEDICAL SERVICES RECORDS DISPOSITION Revision Number 01
POLICY MANUAL Date of Next Review 2016

I. STATEMENT OF POLICY

The Philippine Heart Center adheres to the principles on records management of

the Department of Health and of the National Archives of the Philippines.

RA 9470 otherwise known as the National Archives of the Philippines (NAP) Act of
2007 governs the management of public records and archives administration. It
stipulates that no government department, bureau, agency and instrumentality shall
dispose of, destroy or authorize the disposal or destruction of any public records,
which are in the custody or under its control except with the prior written authority of
the Executive Director. It further states that a person who willfully or negligently
damages a public record or disposes of or destroys a public record other than in
accordance with the provision of RA 940 or contravenes or fails to comply with any
provision of said Act or any regulations made under this Act shall be deemed to have
committed an offense and will be duly penalized.

The Philippine Heart Center has a Records Disposition Schedule approved by the
National Archives of the Philippines. (see Annex 35 Approved Records Disposition
Schedule)

The Department of Health (DOH) Records Disposition Schedule states that health care
facilities attached to teaching/training/research institutions may keep medical records
beyond 15 years if deemed necessary. In the RDS of the Philippine Heart Center
approved by the NAP, all cardiac inpatient records will be treated permanently, non-
cardiac patients could be disposed of after 15 years.

RECORDS DISPOSITION
Records Disposition is the last of the three stages in the life cycle of records, the first of
which is the birth or records creation, the second is the active life or records
maintenance and use, and the third is the inactive life or records disposition. Records
Disposition refers to activities for the retention, preservation and disposal of records in
an agency or institution.

Reviewed by
GERARDO S. MANZO, MD Approved by
MANUEL T. CHUA CHIACO, JR, M.D.
Assistant Director for Medical Services Executive Director
 Department / Division Page Number 2 of 4
EDUCATION, TRAINING AND RESEARCH Policy Number MED-DET-MRL-035
MEDICAL RECORDS AND LIBRARY Effective Date November 2002
PHILIPPINE HEART Title Date Reviewed May 2014
CENTER Date Revised March 2011
MEDICAL SERVICES RECORDS DISPOSITION Revision Number 01
POLICY MANUAL Date of Next Review 2016

In Records Disposition there are ways to effectively carry out the different activities
involved. It is important to have a Records Disposition Program (RDP) and a Records
Disposition Schedule (RDS). Records Disposition Program is a pre-determined, well
arranged and coordinated plan of activities for the retention, transfer and disposal of
records in an agency. Records Disposition Schedule is a written statement of the action
to be taken with respect to all records produced and maintained by the agency. It assists
the agency in its prompt disposal of valueless records, the storage of temporary records
and the preservation of permanent records. Before any Records Disposition Program
can be effectively installed and implemented, an agency should first undertake an
inventory of its record. This is the initial step in developing the agencys Records
Disposition Schedule.

IMPORTANCE OF A DISPOSITION PROGRAM

The Medical Records Division as a repository of the voluminous patients medical
records recognizes the importance of medical records disposition. A disposition
program contributes to the efficiency of a Medical Records Division. The regular and
systematic transfer or culling of inactive medical records thins down the active files and
make it easier to file, retrieve, and locate a misfiled record. Culling is the removal of
medical records from the medical record file room when they are no longer active and
filed in inactive or secondary storage.

PREPARATION FOR TRANSFER OF MEDICAL RECORDS

1. Stamp folders on the upper left hand corner when it is filed with the year. Any
medical records created in a certain year should bear the stamp for that year.
2. Stamp every old medical record that is used in any of the following years with the
stamp for the year. A folder used for three consecutive years will look like this.

2000 JUAN C. DE LA CRUZ 00

2001 00
2002 01

Reviewed by
GERARDO S. MANZO, MD Approved by
MANUEL T. CHUA CHIACO, JR, M.D.
Assistant Director for Medical Services Executive Director
 Department / Division Page Number 3 of 4
EDUCATION, TRAINING AND RESEARCH Policy Number MED-DET-MRL-035
MEDICAL RECORDS AND LIBRARY Effective Date November 2002
PHILIPPINE HEART Title Date Reviewed May 2014
CENTER Date Revised March 2011
MEDICAL SERVICES RECORDS DISPOSITION Revision Number 01
POLICY MANUAL Date of Next Review 2016

How to retain medical records

A medical record will be retained in accordance with the Records Disposition
Schedule. Medical Records kept in the active files fifteen (15) years after the year of the
patients last visit to the hospital. For example, in 2010 all in patient folders stamped 1995
shall be transferred.

When to transfer medical records

Cull and transfer inactive medical records in the most convenient time for the Medical
Record Personnel so as not to disrupt routine working hours. Records may be transferred on
a Saturday or Sunday. This is done little by little until all sections have been finished in a
certain year.

Where to transfer medical records

Culled medical records shall be filed in the secondary storage area in the same
manner as the active records are filed. The very upper shelves also be divided into 100
sections and labeled as are the shelves for active files following the terminal digit filing
system.

DISPOSAL
Disposal of identified medical records, non-cardiac medical records, will be made in
accordance with the guidelines set by NAP.
The last stage of records management is when the life span of a record has come to
an end. This means that its purpose has been served and it has been fully utilized. This is
where records disposition comes in after having followed the laws governing it. Records
disposition is the process of eliminating vaueless records from the storage room. This
process will create space to store other records for safe keeping This also lightens the
burden of the Medical Records Officer of keeping records which are no longer useful to the
hospital, of anxiety fits from loss, destruction or misuse.

Reviewed by
GERARDO S. MANZO, MD Approved by
MANUEL T. CHUA CHIACO, JR, M.D.
Assistant Director for Medical Services Executive Director
 Department / Division Page Number 4 of 4
EDUCATION, TRAINING AND RESEARCH Policy Number MED-DET-MRL-035
MEDICAL RECORDS AND LIBRARY Effective Date November 2002
PHILIPPINE HEART Title Date Reviewed May 2014
CENTER Date Revised March 2011
MEDICAL SERVICES RECORDS DISPOSITION Revision Number 01
POLICY MANUAL Date of Next Review 2016

The following are the procedures to be followed by government agencies/hospitals in

disposing their records.
1. Conduct an inventory of records
2. Follow the Agencys Records Disposition Schedule
3. Request for authority to dispose records
4. Appraisal and examination of disposable records by the NAP Analyst
5. Ocular inspection of the requested of the requested disposable records by the NAP
Analyst
6. How disposals are to be accomplished:
1.1 Public bidding
1.2 Through direct official buyer from the NAP
1.3 Shredding
1.4 Pulverizing
1.5 Maceration
1.6 Burning the fastest but have to follow the Sanitation Laws
2. Setting the schedule for the records disposition
3. Avail the Certificate of Disposal

The disposition of all records, general or medical, shall be done in accordance with
the rules ad regulations and in close coordination with the National Archives of the
Philippines, the government agency in charge of records management.
(See Annex 35- Approved Records Disposition Schedule)

Reviewed by
GERARDO S. MANZO, MD Approved by
MANUEL T. CHUA CHIACO, JR, M.D.
Assistant Director for Medical Services Executive Director