Patient Record Retention: What It Is and How Long to Keep It

Record retention is the duty to safely keep the record of the patient's care. In an HOF clinic, the patient record brings together medical history, signed consent forms, plan, progress notes, product lots and photos. Keeping it well is what lets you prove what was explained and done, if that is ever needed.

How long, and in what format?

In Brazil, the period and the format rules (paper or digital, signature) come from the rules of professional councils and from the law. They change, and each profession has its own. So the recommendation is to check your council's current rule before setting the clinic's period, and to record that policy in writing. For the documentation process, see patient records and documentation in HOF.

What about the LGPD?

Face photos and health data are sensitive personal data, with reinforced protection under the LGPD (Brazil's General Data Protection Law). Keeping records because the law requires it is one thing; keeping them out of convenience is another. When the period and the need end, disposal or anonymization should follow the clinic's policy.