On Wednesday, March 23, 2016, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that all documents generated in the care of a patient qualify as a medical record. All data that physicians and other health care professionals keep that was generated in the process of a patient’s treatment and pertains to the patient’s medical history, diagnosis, prognosis, or medical condition is a medical record. The term medical record isn’t just limited to what the physician or other health care professional’s medical records department maintains. The ruling is expected to have ramifications across the state.
The 5-2 decision by the Ohio Supreme Court reverses a ruling from the Fifth District Court of Appeals and goes with the family of a patient who died after surgery at Canton’s Aultman Hospital in 2012. A majority of the justices said the definition of a medical record is not limited to the information maintained by a hospital or other health care professional’s medical records department. The ruling also said the physical location of where the data is stored does not determine if the information qualifies as a medical record. The majority opinion was written by Justice Sharon Kennedy.
For additional information, go to this Canton Repository article published March 23.