Department personnel are not assigned, the CO may
assign custody of the health records to the local
representatives of the Medical Department who
generally furnish medical support. The custody of
health record by an individual is not permitted.
Health records are subject to inspection at any time
by the commanding officer, superiors in the chain of
command, the fleet medical officer, or other authorized
inspectors. The health record is for official use only,
and adequate security and custodial care are required.
There are many methods of providing adequate
security and custodial control of health records. In
general, health records should be stored in such a
manner as to be inaccessible to the crew or general
public. No records or record pages should be left
unattended. This precaution also helps to prevent loss
or misplacement of records.
Medical Department personnel will maintain a
Health Records Receipt, File Chargeout, and
Disposition Record, NAVMED 6150/7, for each health
record in their custody. The completed charge out form
should be retained in the file until the record is
returned.
Medical officers or MDRs are responsible for the
completeness of required health record entries while
the record remains in their custody.
CROSS-SERVICING HEALTH RECORDS
The HREC of a Navy or Marine Corps member is
normally serviced by personnel of the Medical
Department of the Navy.
However, if a Navy or
Marine Corps member is performing an assignment
with the Army or the Air Force, the health record may
be serviced by Army or Air Force Medical Department
personnel. This management of the health record may
be done if the attendant service interposes no objection
and considers the procedure feasible.
Reciprocal
procedures for servicing the health records of Army or
Air Force personnel by personnel of the Medical
Department of the Navy will be maintained whenever
feasible, and if requested by authorized representatives
of those services.
DEALING WITH LOST, DESTROYED, OR
ILLEGIBLE HEALTH RECORDS
When a HREC is lost or destroyed, the HREC
custodian will open a replacement health record. The
designation REPLACEMENT will be prominently
entered on the jacket and all forms replaced. A brief
explanation of the circumstances requiring the
replacement and the date accomplished should be
entered on SF 600, Chronological Record of Medical
Care. If the missing record is subsequently recovered,
the information or entries in the replacement record
will be inserted in the original record.
The HREC or any part of it should be duplicated
whenever it becomes illegible or deteriorates to the
point that it may endanger its future use or value as a
permanent record. The duplicate record or duplicate
portion must reproduce as closely to the original as
possible. Pay particular attention to detail when you
transcribe this information. When you duplicate an
e n t i r e h e a l t h r e c o r d , p l a c e t h e d e s i g n a t i o n
DUPLICATE RECORD prominently on the front of
the jacket above the wording OUTPATIENT
MEDICAL RECORD.
When you duplicate only part of the record,
i d e n t i f y t h e i n d i v i d u a l f o r m s b y p r i n t i n g
DUPLICATE at the bottom of each form. Enter the
circumstances necessitating the duplication and the
date accomplished on an SF 600. Microfiche all forms
replaced for protection and preservation, and make the
envelope a permanent part of the medical record. On
front of the envelope, record the members full name,
FMP (family member prefix) and SSN, date of birth,
and list the original forms contained in the envelope.
If microfilming is not available to the MTF, place
the original health forms (except forms contaminated
with mold or mildew) inside a plain envelope for
preservation and make them part of the permanent
record.
On the front of the envelope, record the
members identifying data (same as microfiche
envelope) and list the contents of the envelope. Mark
the envelope ORIGINAL MEDICAL RECORDS
PERMANENT and file as the bottommost item in
part 2 of the 4-part health record jacket.
DISPOSING OF HEALTH RECORDS
DURING HOSPITALIZATION
When a patient is transferred to an MTF, the HREC
should accompany the patient. If members are
admitted to a military hospital while away from their
command, their HRECs should be forwarded as soon
as possible to the hospital. If a discharged member is
directed to proceed home and await final action on the
recommended findings of a physical evaluation board,
an entry to this effect should be recorded in the HREC.
If a member is admitted to a civilian hospital for
treatment involving brief periods of hospitalization,
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