HOW CAN i FIND THE MEDICAL RECORDS OF MY MOTHER WHO DIED IN AN aRMY HOSPITAL IN

Question:

HOW CAN i FIND THE MEDICAL RECORDS OF MY MOTHER WHO DIED IN AN aRMY HOSPITAL IN 1954?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: They would have gone into storage for up to 25 years after her discharge, then they would have been destroyed. There is no constant repository for all medical records in the country...and especially not in the days before copiers and microfiche. The Army in particular didn't see the need for keeping these records. When I worked in Medical Records, we had people asking for everything down to the blood type on their surgery records from the 1930s (before anyone did blood typing).

Today it's a little different. Modern records are kept in storage for 10 years, then sent for filming of the pertinent information (primarily ER notes, surgery notes, discharge summaries, etc.) Not everything in the file is kept. The only exception is for OBs and those conditions where the statute for malpractice suits is greater than 10 years.