Which is considered an unacceptable source of medical records?

• A. Inpatient Discharge Summary
• B. Freestanding ambulatory surgical center (ASC)
• C. Pathology report
• D. Progress Notes from office with physician

Answer: (B)

Medical records come from sources that maintain a complete, ongoing history of a patient’s care. A freestanding ambulatory surgical center is focused on perioperative procedures and often does not preserve a full longitudinal medical history, making its records incomplete as a sole source for the patient’s overall medical record. In contrast, an inpatient discharge summary provides a comprehensive summary of the hospitalization, a pathology report documents essential diagnostic results, and progress notes from the physician’s office capture ongoing care and clinical decisions. Because you want a source that reflects the patient’s full medical history across settings, the ASC’s records are not suitable as the primary or sole source.