When the Titanic sank, the safety of women and children came first. But when the Lusitania went down three years later, it was a case of survival of the fittest. A painstaking analysis of passenger data from the two vessels revealed that captain's orders to allow women and children off first were adhered to when the Titanic hit an iceberg on her maiden voyage on April 14, 1912.
(e) HIV-positive confidential test results including serology and medical records must be maintained for 7 years after the patient's death, if known, or 18 years from the last date of service.
OSHA rules require that medical records must be retained for the duration of employment plus 30 years. (CMA On-Call document 1160, page 2). In general, you know your patients. The safest way to proceed is to maintain the charts of patients with complicated medical histories indefinitely.