The ABC for Medical Practices: Patient Records and HIPAA Obligations

Medical practice ABCs involve a layer of regulatory complexity that general commercial ABCs don’t. Patient records, professional licensing requirements, and HIPAA obligations all affect how the assignee must administer the estate.

Healthcare-Specific Issues

The assignee must: arrange for compliant storage and access to patient records (typically for a minimum of seven to ten years), notify patients of the practice closure, handle any outstanding insurance billing, manage DEA registration for controlled substance prescriptions, and comply with HIPAA in any transfer or destruction of patient information.

Patient records cannot simply be shredded or abandoned. HIPAA requires that patient records be maintained and accessible even after a practice closes. Assignees who fail to address patient records expose the estate — and potentially themselves — to regulatory enforcement. This is one area where specific healthcare insolvency expertise matters more than general commercial experience.

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