Service Medical
and Health Records
Most Official Military Personnel Files at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) prior to 1992
contain both personnel and active duty health records. Health records
cover outpatient, dental, and mental health treatment which a former member received while in the military service.
Health records documents include induction and separation physical examinations, and routine medical care (doctor/dental visits,
lab tests, etc.) when the patient was not admitted to a hospital.
In comparison, clinical (hospital inpatient) records are NOT filed with the health records but are
generally retired to NPRC (MPR) by the hospital or facility which created them. Other medical records which would not be included
are Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) records, or records for service after 1992.
The practice of filing health
records with the personnel record portion has been discontinued. In 1992, the Army began retiring most of its former
members' health records to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The other services made this change in subsequent
years.