1. (a) Records shall be entirely legible and include but not be limited to a history, an exam, a diagnosis, and a plan appropriate for the licensee’s specialty.

2. (b) The responsible party shall honor all requests made by a patient or an authorized agent of a patient, for complete copies of the patient’s health record in accordance with the following standards:

   1. (1) Upon the patients request the responsible party or entity that controls the health records shall have the responsibility to comply with the request;
   2. (2) Upon the patient’s request, the responsible party shall provide copies of the health records, either a specified portion or the entire contents depending on the patient’s request, regardless of whether the licensee created the records or the records were provided to the licensee by another health care provider;
   3. (3) The responsible party may charge the actual cost of duplication for x-rays or other color photographs;

   4. (4) Upon receipt of a written release, the requested transfer of health records shall:

      1. a. Not be delayed, including for non-payment of services or non-payment of copying costs and of costs for transmitting of health records; and
      2. b. Be accomplished in any case within 30 days from receipt of the signed release, unless the nature of the treatment requires an immediate response from the licensee;
   5. (5) In the case of patients who are minors or are legally incapacitated, the responsible party shall release health records to a third party who is legally responsible for authorizing treatment for the patient;
   6. (6) Health records shall be released to the third party reference in (5), above, on the same basis that they would otherwise be for another patient if the licensee possesses written documentation establishing the legal guardianship for the minor or legally incapacitated patient in question;
   7. (7) The responsible party may require written authorization for release of health records, but, in no instance, shall the responsible party require the personal appearance of the patient prior to release; and
   8. (8) After transfer of the licensee’s health records which meets the requirements of (d) below, the licensee shall be relieved of further responsibility for complying with requests for copies of records.

3. (c) The licensee shall retain a complete copy of all patient health records for at least 7 years from to date of the:

   1. (1) Patient’s last contact with the licensee, unless, before that date, the patient has requested that the file be transferred to another health provider; or
   2. (2) In the case of a minor patient, 7 years after the date of majority, unless, before that date, the patient or patient’s guardian has requested that the file be transferred to another health provider.

4. (d) If a licensee retires, moves from the area, or decides to stop treating a patient or group of patients, the licensee shall:

   1. (1) Provide notice to those active patients which explains that the licensee is no longer available to them;
   2. (2) Ensure that their records can be transferred to another health care provider as requested by the patient; and
   3. (3) Whenever possible, notice shall be provided at least 30 days prior to cessation of treatment.
5. (e) In the case of a practice owned and controlled by a licensee, the responsible party shall be the licensee and the licensee shall be responsible for transferring copies of health records regardless of whether the licensee had delegated this task to another person or organization.
6. (f) In the case of an employed licensee, the responsible party shall be the employer or organization and the responsibility for transferring copies of the health records shall fall upon the employer or organization, pursuant to these rules and RSA 151:21, X.

Source. #14143, eff 12-6-24, EXPIRES: 12-6-34