When Practice Closes, Let PCMS Help

When a Medical Practice Closes, Let PCMS Help
By: Dennis Carey, PCMS Executive Director

Pima County Medical Society provides our members with many services and means of support. As the landscape healthcare has changed over the years, so have the duties of PCMS.

Next to finding a new primary care physician, the most calls received at our office are from patients or law firms looking for medical records. Unfortunately, that is not a service PCMS is equipped to handle. We do not store records, and we do not have access to information on where records are stored for closed practices or for physicians who retire or move.

We do try to help as much as possible. If I have contact information that I can use to find out where the records are located, I will try to provide this information or contact the provider to follow up with their former patient. If a practice or physician wants to notify us of a closure and how to obtain copies of records, we can pass along that information if patients contact us.

Arizona requires physicians to keep records for six years from the last date of care. It’s not easy to notify hundreds or maybe thousands of patients about getting copies of their records or having them forwarded to a new physician. While we cannot store records, we can help your patients find them if you want us to refer them to where they can get copies after the office has closed. It may save us all time and frustration.