How often are active duty records inventoried?

• A. Never, if the facility has CHCS
• B. At least once a year
• C. At least semiannually
• D. Whenever necessary

Answer: (B)

Regular, documented inventory of active duty medical records is done to ensure accountability, accuracy, and readiness. This process catches missing or misplaced files, verifies that each active duty member’s record is present and up to date, and supports timely access during deployments and audits. The standard cadence is at least once a year, which provides a consistent, manageable check across all records without imposing unnecessary frequency. Even with an electronic system in place, the physical files still need periodic verification to confirm their location and condition and to reconcile them with electronic data. Inventories done only as needed are too vague and risk gaps, and doing them never is incorrect because records can be missing or misfiled regardless of systems in place.