Currently, in 2022, the longest duration you must store medical records is 10 years according to § 3731. False claims procedure.
Physical Therapy Medical Record Retention Laws in 2022
How long is a physical therapist required to keep medical records?
The duration may vary based on governing body. Some third party payers may only require 3 years while federal law currently requires 10-years.
You are obligated to abide by the law or rule requiring the longest duration.
Which medical record retention law or rule are physical therapists in private practice required to follow?
The short answer is… “All of them!”
You are required to follow the most strict of all local, state, and federal laws. The same holds true to third-party payer rules and regulations. Currently, 10-years is the longest duration for medical record retention laws and this comes from the federal law.
Paper and Electronic Medical Records
Both paper and electronic medical records are subject to the § 3731. False claims procedure law.
Medicare Specific Guidelines for Medical Record Retention
The Medical Record Maintenance & Access Requirements is a 5-page document that outlines Medicare-specific requirements for medical record retention.
This document includes the following topics:
| Who may request access to these medical records? |
| What type of documentation must you maintain and provide to us or one of our Medicare contractors? |
| What happens if you don’t maintain required documentation or don’t provide access? |
| What are some best practices for meeting the documentation and maintenance requirements? |
Telehealth – Using ScreenCapture, Canva, and A Digital Goniometer To Measure ROM (FREE)
Telehealth for physical and occupational therapy has been growing in popularity lately. Along with this growth, therapists are looking for new and easy to use tools. This simple goniometer can be added to your screen capture to measure joint range of motion.
Medicare Guidelines for Billing Therapeutic Exercise 97110 PT, OT in 2020
“Many therapeutic exercises may require the unique skills of a therapist to evaluate the patient’s abilities, design the program, and instruct the patient or caregiver in safe completion of the special technique. However, after the teaching has been successfully completed, repetition of the exercise, and monitoring for the completion of the task, in the absence of additional skilled care, is non-covered. For example, as part of the initial therapy program following total knee arthroplasty (TKA), a patient may start a session on the exercise bike to begin gentle range of motion activity. Initially the patient requires skilled progression in the program from pedal-rocks, building to full revolutions, perhaps assessing and varying the
seat height and resistance along the way. Once the patient is able to safely exercise on the bike, no longer requiring frequent assessment and progression, even if set up is required, the bike now becomes an “independent” program and is no longer covered by Medicare.”
