• Revenue Cycle Management
  • COVID-19
  • Reimbursement
  • Diabetes Awareness Month
  • Risk Management
  • Patient Retention
  • Staffing
  • Medical Economics® 100th Anniversary
  • Coding and documentation
  • Business of Endocrinology
  • Telehealth
  • Physicians Financial News
  • Cybersecurity
  • Cardiovascular Clinical Consult
  • Locum Tenens, brought to you by LocumLife®
  • Weight Management
  • Business of Women's Health
  • Practice Efficiency
  • Finance and Wealth
  • EHRs
  • Remote Patient Monitoring
  • Sponsored Webinars
  • Medical Technology
  • Billing and collections
  • Acute Pain Management
  • Exclusive Content
  • Value-based Care
  • Business of Pediatrics
  • Concierge Medicine 2.0 by Castle Connolly Private Health Partners
  • Practice Growth
  • Concierge Medicine
  • Business of Cardiology
  • Implementing the Topcon Ocular Telehealth Platform
  • Malpractice
  • Influenza
  • Sexual Health
  • Chronic Conditions
  • Technology
  • Legal and Policy
  • Money
  • Opinion
  • Vaccines
  • Practice Management
  • Patient Relations
  • Careers

Q&A: How long to keep explanation of benefits statements?

Article

Superbills, encounter forms, and EOBs are not considered primary records and can be destroyed after they are input into the billing system.

Q: How long are we required to keep explanations of benefits forms once the information is recorded into our computer system? Also, how long do we keep superbills and encounter forms after the information makes it to the computer for billing purposes?

A: There are two primary record types that exist in a medical practice-medical records and financial records. The former should be retained as long as there is professional liability exposure and the latter as long as there is IRS audit exposure. Superbills, encounter forms, and EOBs are not considered primary records of either category and can be destroyed after they are input into the billing system. Therefore, retention should be based on the business needs of the practice. For example, if the originals may be of help when following up on denied claims, it may be worthwhile to retain them for a year or so.

Related Videos