3.0 Responsibilities
The contractor
shall comply with the federal policies, regulations, and laws referenced
in
paragraph 1.1, including
those policies associated with safeguarding records covered by the
Privacy Act of 1974, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), and Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) statutes. These
policies include the preservation of all DHA records created or
received, regardless of format or mode of transmission (e-mail,
fax, etc.), or state of completion (draft, final, etc.). Contractors may
choose to maintain records in either paper or electronic format.
Depending on the chosen format, contractors shall use the appropriate
Addendum, either
A or
B,
for guidance on transferring paper records to the Federal Records
Centers (FRCs) or electronic records to DHA.
3.1 DHA
DHA will:
3.1.1 Develop and implement policies
and standard operating procedures for the measurement and continuous
improvement of the DHA RM Program;
3.1.2 Provide
scope requirements for the effective control of Government records
to include creation, organization, maintenance, use, and disposition
of records including records containing adequate and proper documentation
of the contractor’s administration and procedures;
3.1.3 Provide
annual RM training to contractors and custodians who manage Government records;
3.1.4 Notify responsive contractors
and custodians of time-sensitive records freezes and lifts in a timely
manner; and
3.1.5 Inspect contractors’ and custodians’
RM practices and applied procedures during the contractor’s normal
business hours.
3.2 Contractor
The contractor shall:
3.2.1 Ensure that the contractor’s
Records Liaison shall attend the DHA RM training annually;
Note: All travel shall be at the
contractor’s expense.
3.2.2 Understand
that records related to beneficiary health care, claims and all
supporting documentation, received or developed under DHA contracts
are the property of the U.S. Government, unless they are specifically
excluded:
3.2.2.1 Maintain all government records
in their custody pursuant to DHA RRS (see
Section 2).
3.2.2.2 Appoint an individual to act
as a RM Liaison to work with the DHA RM Officer pursuant to DHA
contractual scope.
3.2.2.3 Apply
current laws, regulations, standards, procedures, and techniques
to ensure the most economical, efficient, and reliable means for
the creation, retrieval, maintenance, preservation, and disposition
of Government records, regardless of media.
3.2.2.4 Maintain file plans of all
active and inactive Government records and provide copies of file plans
for review to the DHA RM Officer when requested.
3.2.2.5 Maintain documentation on any
Federal records that have been transferred to the FRCs or destroyed
pursuant to the DHA RRS.
3.2.2.6 Review, comment, and update
the file plan annually for each office within their purview to ensure
that records are accurately identified and scheduled.
Note: File plans shall be made available
to the Government, if requested
3.2.2.7 Participate in RM Program evaluations
every two years to monitor compliance with applicable RM laws and
regulations.
3.2.2.8 Evaluate current and potential
information systems to identify record information being created
or received during the conduct of business and ensure the preservation
of federal records as specified in the DHA RRS.
Note: Record information created
in information systems and not identified in the DHA RRS shall be
brought to the attention of the DHA RM Officer.
3.2.2.9 Promote awareness of their
legal responsibility to report to the appropriate official any actual,
impending, or threatened unlawful removal, alteration, or destruction
of federal records. Applicable policies and regulations are referenced
in
paragraph 1.1.
3.2.2.10 Establish a RM Program covering
all media. The contractor shall use the standard classification
and filing system outlined in the DHA RRS. This allows for the maximum
uniformity and ease in maintaining and using Government records
and facilitating the locating, charge-out, re-filing, and disposing
of records.
3.2.2.11 Develop and implement a vital
records program in accordance with 36 CFR Chapter XII Subchapter
B, Part 1223, “Managing Vital Records.”
3.2.2.12 Retrieve and deliver records
within five working days of receiving the U.S. Government’s request
for them.
3.2.2.13 Maintain and store federal
records for the duration of their life cycle throughout the contract’s
period of performance.
Note: Refer to
Chapter 2, Section 10, paragraph 4.0 for record
transition instructions. Once a record’s retention has been satisfied,
the contractor shall transfer or destroy eligible records, whichever disposition
action is applicable to the records in question.
3.2.2.14 Manage e-mail that complements
Government records by applying the laws, regulations, and instructions
which are identified in this Policy and include the following administrative
actions:
3.2.2.14.1 Write and implement e-mail
instructions to include DHA RRS requirements and risk prevention
guidance addressing unauthorized additions, deletions, and alterations
to message content all of which impair record integrity. At a minimum,
the instructions shall address:
• Defining what is a record versus
what identifies a non-record;
• Adding records to recordkeeping
systems;
• Preserving data; to include
preserving names on distribution lists and directories;
• When to request receipts and
how to preserve them;
• Circulating drafts securely;
and
• Using external e-mail systems
for Government e-mail as records.
3.2.2.14.2 Assign an individual to be
responsible for the maintenance of the e-mail recordkeeping system.
This individual is also required to annually monitor the use of
the e-mail system to assure recordkeeping instructions are being
followed.
3.2.2.14.3 Train all e-mail users and
provide on-going training for any new users on e-mail recordkeeping
requirements in compliance with DHA RRS requirements (also see
paragraph 1.1).
This training shall include: defining what is a record vs. a non-record;
how to put records into recordkeeping systems; preserving data;
preserving names on distribution lists or directories; when to request
receipts and how to preserve the receipts; how to deal with circulated
drafts; and external e-mail systems.
3.2.2.15 Routinely transfer inactive
paper records to the FRC designated by DHA RM Officer in accordance
with
Section 4.
4.0 Definitions
4.1 Active
Records
Active
records are those used to conduct current DHA business. They may
also be referred to as “open.” Active records are generally maintained
in office space or online in an electronic system. Events in this phase
of the records life cycle include creating or receiving records
and capturing them in a document or content management system or
recordkeeping system.
4.2 Case
Files
A case
file contains material on a specific action, transaction, event,
person, project, or other subject. As an example, case files may
cover one or several subjects that relate to a particular case.
4.3 Content Management System
An application that provides
capabilities for multiple users with different permission levels
to manage content, data, or information.
4.4 Contractor Records
Records include data produced
and maintained by a contractor for DHA. The contractor is required
to provide adequate and complete documentation that results in records
about DHA’s programs.
4.5 Disposition
Instructions
Actions
taken on records no longer needed to conduct the current business
of DHA, and usually include instruction for the cut off, transfer,
retirement, and destruction of record documents. Specific guidance
and techniques for using or applying disposition instructions are
located in the DHA RRS.
4.6 Documentation
Documentation concerns the
creation of records and the assembly or consolidation of this information. This
applies to records in all media (paper, electronic, microfilm, etc.).
4.7 Electronic Information Systems
Records generated in systems
created to perform DHA mission related functions (claims, Explanation
of Benefits (EOBs), etc.) and used by office or organizational personnel,
computer operators, programmers, and systems administrators. These
systems are usually identified by a specific name or acronym, and
contain structured data. These systems contain DHA records content
and shall be required to have retention schedules applied.
4.8 Electronic Mail
A document created or received
on an agency electronic mail system, including brief notes, more formal
or substantive documents, and any attachments and routing information
which may be transmitted with the message. Electronic mail may be
a record or a non-record.
4.9 Electronic
Recordkeeping
The creation,
maintenance, use and disposition of records created and stored by
using a computer. Electronic recordkeeping is part of the solution
to manage, preserve, and provide access to electronic records.
4.10 Electronic Recordkeeping System
An electronic recordkeeping
system collects, organizes, and categorizes electronic records in
their native file form instead of requiring the user to print and
file them in a manual filing system. Such a system automates the
preservation, retrieval, use, and disposition of the electronic
record.
4.11 Electronic Records
Records stored in a form that
only a computer can process and satisfies the definition of a federal record,
also referred to as machine-readable records or automatic data processing
records.
4.12 Electronic Standard Form 135
(SF-135)
The electronic
SF-135 is modeled after the transmittal document SF-135, which is
designed for metadata about the paper records. When transferring
electronic records, the metadata is different than the paper records
(see
Addendum B). The metadata collected for electronic
transfers will be the key identifiers used to search and retrieve
the record.
4.13
Freeze
(Also Record Freeze)
An action
or event that suspends the destruction of records to include:
• Updates to records retention
schedules.
• Litigation.
• Natural disasters.
See also
paragraphs 4.14 (Frozen
Records) and
4.25 (Records).
4.14
Frozen
Records (FRs)
Temporary
records that cannot be destroyed according to scheduled retention
because of special circumstances, such as a court order, which requires
a temporary extension of the approved retention period.
4.15
Inactive
Records
Inactive
records are documents which are no longer referenced on a regular
basis (yearly) and tend to be stored in a less accessible place.
Records become inactive when the cut-off, as defined on a Records Retention
Schedule, has been reached. Inactive records may also be referred
to as “closed” records.
4.16 Life
Cycle of Records
The concept
that records pass through the following stages: receipt, capture,
creation, active use, inactive use, distribution, storage, transfer,
migration, disposition, and archiving of the official record.
4.17 Lifts
An action or event that removes
a freeze from records that are suspended from destruction. See
paragraphs 4.13 (Freeze)
and
4.14 (Frozen Records).
4.18 Medium/Media
The physical form of recorded
information: such as paper, film, disc, magnetic tape, and other
materials on which information can be recorded and stored.
4.19 Metadata
Data about a record; the attributes
of electronic records (structure, content, and context), including office
of origin, file codes, dates sent/received, disposition, security
classification, etc. For example, if a record can be viewed as a
“letter”, then metadata is found on the “envelope” (e.g., date stamp,
return address, addressee, etc.). Associated metadata is data that
is linked to or associated with a specific electronic record or
record object.
4.20 Migration
The techniques and strategies
used to move electronic information from one storage medium to another
over time to prevent the loss of needed information because of technological
obsolescence.
4.21 Non-Record
Material
Non-record
material is any U.S. Government-owned documentary material that
does not meet the conditions of records status or that is specifically
excluded from the statutory definition of a record (see 44 USC 3301).
There are three specific categories of materials excluded from the
statutory definition of records:
• Library and museum material
(but only if such material is made or acquired and preserved solely
for reference or exhibition purposes), including physical exhibits,
artifacts, and other material objects lacking evidential value.
• Extra copies of documents (but
only if the sole reason such copies are preserved is for convenience of
reference).
• Stocks of publications and
of processed documents. Catalogs, trade journals, and other publications
that are received from other Government agencies, commercial firms,
or private institutions and that require no action and are not part
of a case on which action is taken. (Stocks do not include serial
or record sets of agency publications and processed documents, including annual
reports, brochures, pamphlets, books, handbooks, posters and maps.)
4.22 Optical Disc (OD)
A non-contact, random-access
disc tracked by optical laser beams and used for mass storage and retrieval
of digitized text and graphics. Sometimes called an optical digital
disc or optical digital data disc. Types include:
• Write Once Read Many (WORM);
• Compact Disc-Read Only Memory
(CD-ROM); and
• Digital Video Disc (DVD).
4.23 Project Files
A project file contains material
on a specific action, transaction, event, person, project, or other
subject. As an example, project files may cover one or several subjects
that relate to a particular project.
4.24 Record
Object
A record
object is a container (typically, a computer file) for a group of
related information. The information can be formatted as either
text or images, and the computer file-type indicates the format of
the information. For example, scanned images are typically stored
in TIFF or as Portable Document Format (PDF) files. Consideration
should be given to using searchable PDF files when TIFFs are too
large or have too many pages to open and be viewed in an efficient
and reliable manner.
Note: For the purpose of electronic
RM, a record object is not necessarily a row of data in a database.
4.25
Records
According to 44 USC 3301, the
term “records” includes “all books, papers, maps, photographs, electronic
records, or other documentary materials, regardless of physical
form or characteristics, made or received by an agency of the U.S.
Government under Federal law or in connection with the transaction
of public business and preserved or appropriate for preservation
by that agency or it’s legitimate successor as evidence of the organization,
functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations, or other
activities of the Government, or because of the informational nature
of data in them. Library and museum material made or acquired and
preserved solely for reference, and stocks or publications and of
processed documents are not included.”
4.26 Records
Management (RM)
That area
of general administrative management concerned with achieving economy
and efficiency in the creation, use/maintenance, and disposition
of records.
4.27 Smart Scan
Smart Scan is a feature of
the Archives and Records Centers Information System (ARCIS) that
provides a service of scanning the paper records requested and having
them e-mailed to the requestor. For more specific details about
the service, check the National Archives and Records Administration
(NARA) ARCIS web page.
4.28 Terabyte Drive
A type of external hard drive
containing 1024 gigabytes per terabyte. The contractor shall contact
the DHA RM Officer for guidance on the current standards.
4.29 Transfer
The term “transfer” has replaced
the older term “accession” for temporary records. Like an accession,
a transfer is a unique identifier used by National Archives and
Records Administration (NARA) to track the records transferred using
the transmittal document SF-135 for paper, or for electronic records.
4.30 Transmission and Receipt Data
4.30.1 Transmission data: Information
in electronic mail systems regarding the identities of sender and
addressee(s), and the date and time messages were sent.
4.30.2 Receipt data: Information in
electronic mail systems regarding date and time of receipt of a message,
and/or acknowledgment of receipt or access by the addressee(s).
4.31 Vital Records (Sometimes Called
Essential Records)
Records
essential to the continued functioning or reconstitution of an organization
during and after an emergency and also those records essential to
protecting the rights and interests of that organization and of
the individuals directly affected by its activities (includes both
emergency-operating and rights-and-interests records). Vital records
considerations are part of an agency’s records disaster prevention and
recovery program.