1. MEDICAL RECORD COMMITTE
Dr. Amina Al Shekteria

2. MEDICAL RECORD COMMITTEE
•Each hospital should have a Medical Record
Committee. This Committee makes decisions on
medical record policy, medical record procedures,
medical record forms, and procedures in other
departments/wards relevant to the management of
medical records and patient information.
•Members should be representatives of the various
clinical services of the hospital, rotating on a yearly
basis so that all services will eventually be represented.
•The Medical Record Committee is responsible for all
matters relating to the content of medical records and
the provision of medical record services in the hospital.

3. •The Medical Record Committee in large hospitals
meets every month and less frequently in smaller
hospitals. It should meet at least four times per year.
•The Committee should be made up of people who
are interested in good medical records and who are
prepared, by their own example, to provide an
incentive to others, particularly junior doctors.
•The Committee should consist of not less than three
members and not more than six. Too large a
committee could be unwieldy.

4. For example, membership of the Medical Record
Committee should consist of:
•• a representative of doctors from both medicine and
surgery;
•• a representative of nursing administration;
•• a representative of the hospital administration
(management);
•• a representative from allied health staff -
physiotherapy, social work etc.; and the MROs.
•Other members may be invited onto the committee if
their input is required, such as orthopedic, pediatric and
obstetric doctors. In a larger health care facility,
representatives from nurses on the ward may also be
included
•.

5. Functions and Responsibilities of Medical
Record Committee
•• Review of medical records to ensure that they
are accurate, clinically pertinent, complete and
readily available for continuing patient care,
medico-legal requirements, and medical research;
•• ensure that medical staff complete all the
medical records of patients under their care by
recording a discharge diagnosis and writing a
discharge summary (where required) for each
discharged patient within a specified period of
time;

6. •• determine the standards and policies for the
medical record and the medical record services
of the health care facility;
•• Recommend action when problems arise in
relation to medical records and the medical
record service;

7. •• determine the format of the medical record
and approve and control the introduction of
new medical record forms used in the health
care facility (all forms should be cleared by
the Medical Record Committee before being
put into use); and
•• assist and support the MROs in liaising with
other staff/departments in the health care
facility.
.