Deleting a document, and what deletion means

Open the document and choose Delete. Deleting requires the documents permission and is recorded in your audit log with who did it.

What deletion does

The document stops appearing anywhere in the application, cannot be downloaded, and cannot be attached to anything new.

What survives, deliberately

The audit record. The entries saying the document existed, who viewed it and who deleted it remain. A deletion that erased its own trail would make the audit log useless for exactly the question it is there to answer.

Metering. Pages already transmitted stay counted. They were sent.

Retention

Your organization sets a retention period — seven years by default. Documents past it are surfaced for deletion rather than removed automatically, because an automatic purge of clinical records is a decision a person should make.

If you need certified destruction

VitalFax does not currently issue destruction certificates. If your retention policy requires one, say so when you contact support rather than assuming deletion produces one.