Jennifer,

I am so sorry to hear about your troubles. I echo Bert by offering any assistance I can.

I think Bert's ideas are great. I would favor simply copying each patient's records to CD and sending them to the patients (or less costly, call and have them come pick them up). If they then require a paper record, they can do it or have it done themselves. Somehow denote in each patient's chart when and how their records were transmitted to them. You could use the function in AC such as when you send records to someone.

The one problem that has worried me about this plan is what happens if the OS or PDF or any other software program is no longer supported 7-10 years down the road? What if CDs or DVDs go the way of the Beta VCR? I guess you can relieve yourself of that concern if you give the patient the CD and then say "I provided their data to them, what happens to it after that is not my problem."

Lastly, transfer all of your patient data to external hard drives (make several copies), store in a safe place and stop worrying.

Hope things work out for you.

Leslie
Hospital Employed Physician Who Misses The Old AC

"It's a good thing for a doctor to have prematurely grey hair and itching piles. It makes him appear to know more than he does and gives him an expression of concern which the patient interprets as being on his behalf. "