[Hidden-tech] To keep records or not to keep records...

[DAVID F. FARKAS]

... that is the question.

         I have a rather unusual consulting business. I take intake 
notes. I take notes on the work I do. Then write a report that is 
emailed to the client.

         Filing is not my forte and I do not have staff, so there is 
a pile of Jurassicly filed notes (oldest sediment is more or less on 
the bottom... except for that pesky ice age that churned things us...)

         What I'd like is input on is whether there is any need to 
keep the detailed notes at all. Perhaps just capturing the client 
info in a CRM database with minimal notes would suffice? That let's 
me have an overview and do follow up without paper that is not likely 
to be reviewed, assuming I actually put it all into a dB.

         The other concern is privacy / confidentiality. I am not 
legally bound by licensure to maintain confidentiality, but I do. 
Having notes creates the potential for violations of that privacy. 
The less I keep the less it's an issue.

         Thoughts? Experiences? Comments? Idea? Best practices that 
have worked for you or others?

         As always, thanx for being this wonderful resource and think tank.

         Blissings,
         David

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        Snowmen Fall from Heaven... Unassembled
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"Whatever course you decide upon,  there is
  always someone to tell you that you are wrong.
  There are always difficulties arising which tempt
   you  to believe that your critics are right."
                                                    ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
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"Do what you feel in your heart to be right -
  for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned
  if you do, and damned if you don't."
                                                           ~ Eleanor Roosevelt
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"I know God will not give me anything  I can't
  handle. I just  wish that He   didn't trust me
  so much."                                             ~Mother Teresa
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   No trees were destroyed by sending this message.
   However, a significant number of electrons were
   sorely inconvenienced by delivering it.
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