While I may be mistaken, if you've been searching for the answers to the question of medical record retention under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ("HIPAA"), you probably weren't having much luck. HIPAA primarily involves how health information may and may not be used, disclosed, and to whom, etc. It is state law that is the primary source of law governing medical record retention. While I do not know what state is involved, I would first go online for the website for your state's Attorney General. That site should not only provide links to helpful publications containing all sorts of information pertaining to medical records as well as other consumer guidance pertaining to the health industry that may answer your question immediately, and you should also be able to call them or email them, (I would call, personally, in case you have follow-up questions), with the contact information for the particular Assistant Attorney General, if that is provided, or the general contact number if not. By speaking with someone there, you can have your questions tailored to address your specific situation, likely by an attorney there, or someone else who is responsible for providing consumer guidance and would be well-versed in the statutes.
Another source would be the agency responsible in your state for regulating physicians (if you do not know what it is called, you can always call the general information number for your state and ask the operator to assist you with that, and then look up their website, they probably have one, or just call them). The down side to that that I can see in using that as a primary source would be that the site likely has a link to the statutes, and isn't as "user-friendly" as the AG's site would be, because statutes are not always simple to read and understand, although I would not dismiss them, since they can be extremely helpful on the telephone, again, as a second source. The Attorney General has as one of his/her primary responsibilities, providing consumer assistance in various areas, including this one (again, I cannot make a generalization since I do not know what state your are in, nor can I say I've seen every site, but I would be surprised if it did not have a consumer component if it did not have a consumer component dedicated to medical information, which again, it likely does) and they would be in my opinion the best place to get information in plain english as well as guidance by phone if necessary.
If you wish to find out more information (in plain english, again) regarding HIPAA, you can contact the United States Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (their website: http://www.hhs.gov/), to view their publications as well. As far as telephone communications, they are available also by phone and willing to help, but again, I"m not certain based on your question that HIPAA is specifically implicated, although again, it's a good website for resources that will provide the link I believe for the Act itself, along with the topic-specific publications for consumers and contact information.
If your situation involves more complicated issues that none of the above resolve, you should seek the advice of an attorney who could provide you with a legal analysis of the facts specific to the question, and discuss options available to you.
While I sincerely and genuinely hope that these resources are helpful to you in answering your question and hopefully even providing you with resources that you can return to for future reference, I do need to make sure that you understand that this answer is not intended, nor is it in any way to be considered or regarded or relied on as legal advice or a substitute for legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created by providing this information to you or anyone else on this site or elsewhere for any purpose other than one consumer providing suggestions to another consumer.
Should you in any way have concerns regarding handling of any issues that relate to this type of matter, you should seek the counsel and advice of a licensed attorney in your state to assist you in analyzing and advising you of any legal issues and your options as expeditiously as possible.
My best wishes to you for success in your endeavor.
