Sold at extremely high prices, a record $45,000 was paid for a single gallbladder (Barron 1991). To illustrate the avid market in this product, an Asian dealer in New York City was murdered in 1991 to obtain his profits from the sale of bear gallbladders.
In the absence of state law guidance, APA's Record Keeping Guidelines indicate that psychologists may consider maintaining full records for seven years after the last date of service or for three years after a minor patient reaches majority, whichever comes later.
State laws may require a health care provider keep a patient's medical records for a certain period of time. Under PA law, a doctor must keep a patient's medical record for at least 7 years after the last treatment date. The exception is for the medical records of a minor, those records must be kept until 1 year after the minor reaches the age of majority or for 7 years, whichever is longer. Similarly, hospitals must keep medical records for at least 7 years after a patient is discharged from the hospital. Hospital records of minors must be kept until age of majority plus 7 years. In practice, many health care providers keep their medical records longer. And for as long as those records are kept, a patient has a right to see them.