This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/yYB.2ACI/15060 Message Board Post: I just learned something about hospital medical records that I thought others might need to know. Do you know that hospitals only keep your medical records 20-25 years? You might not think you need them now. But what about in the future when your grown child gets sick and they really need to learn more about what happened to you when you were treated for cancer, a hysterectomy, or some other illness. I just talked to someone at St. Ann's Hospital in Westerville, Franklin or Delaware County, OH and they just destroyed records past 25 years ago as of January, 2004. I went looking for my records from the old downtown Columbus area St. Ann's for Women location last year. I got one record but was still looking for another. I wish I would not have waited! Everyone should keep a copy of their medical records for your own future use. How do you get them? Go to the local hospital and ask for the medical records department and sign a release. Some insitititutions charge $.10 to $.25 cents per page but it will be worth the grief for you and your family later. Always ask for all records, including lab and x-ray results. You might also want to take your parents along and get them to sign a release to get a copy of their's also. Because once they die, the new privacy regulations will prevent you from ever digging through their medical history.

You didn't sign your name but anyway, Most all hospital records are microfilmed before they are destroyed. They don't tell you that because they don't want to have to go looking through the microfilms for the record. I saw this at the Ohio State Mental Hospital that use to be (maybe still is) on West Broad Street. Someone that lives in the Columbus area can do a little searching and find out where the microfilms are stored. Joe Fleshman -----Original Message----- From: gc-gateway@rootsweb.com [mailto:gc-gateway@rootsweb.com]On Behalf Of czopekt@yahoo.com Sent: Wednesday, June 16, 2004 1:26 PM To: OHFRANKL-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [OHFranklin] Get a copy of your medical records while you can! This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/yYB.2ACI/15060 Message Board Post: I just learned something about hospital medical records that I thought others might need to know. Do you know that hospitals only keep your medical records 20-25 years? You might not think you need them now. But what about in the future when your grown child gets sick and they really need to learn more about what happened to you when you were treated for cancer, a hysterectomy, or some other illness. I just talked to someone at St. Ann's Hospital in Westerville, Franklin or Delaware County, OH and they just destroyed records past 25 years ago as of January, 2004. I went looking for my records from the old downtown Columbus area St. Ann's for Women location last year. I got one record but was still looking for another. I wish I would not have waited! Everyone should keep a copy of their medical records for your own future use. How do you get them? Go to the local hospital and ask for the medical records department and sign a release. Some insitititutions charge $.10 to $.25 cents per page but it will be worth the grief for you and your family later. Always ask for all records, including lab and x-ray results. You might also want to take your parents along and get them to sign a release to get a copy of their's also. Because once they die, the new privacy regulations will prevent you from ever digging through their medical history. ==== OHFRANKL Mailing List ==== Feel free to share your research tips, get help from others and discuss ideas on research and resources for Franklin County. To search this list go to http://searches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl and enter OHFRANKL for the list name. --- Incoming mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.703 / Virus Database: 459 - Release Date: 6/10/2004 --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.703 / Virus Database: 459 - Release Date: 6/10/2004