WA HB1394

Increases the minimum hospital medical record retention period from 10 years after patient discharge to 26 years from the date the record was created

Applies retroactively to records created before the effective date that hospitals still possess, as well as all records created after the effective date

Allows hospitals to store medical records on paper, microfilm, electronically, or other media formats

Requires hospitals that cease operations to make immediate arrangements approved by the department for preservation of their records

Defines all information collected at each unique patient visit as a medical record subject to the retention requirements