What is the primary purpose of the Terminal Digit Filing System (TDFS)?

What is the primary purpose of the Terminal Digit Filing System (TDFS)?

• A. Used for filing by alphabetical last name
• B. Used for filing health records using terminal digits (last 2 numbers of SSN)
• C. Used to store immunization records
• D. Used for color coding health records

Answer: (B)

Terminal digit filing organizes health records by the last two digits of the patient’s SSN. Those terminal digits determine which filing group the record goes into, and the remaining digits are used to order records within that group. This makes filing faster and easier to update because new records slot into the correct terminal-digit group without reshuffling everything, and it speeds retrieval since you already know the group based on the final digits. It’s not done by alphabetical last name, not limited to immunization records, and not based on color coding. For example, a patient with an SSN ending in 47 would be filed in the 47 group, with the other digits determining the exact order inside that group.

Terminal digit filing organizes health records by the last two digits of the patient’s SSN. Those terminal digits determine which filing group the record goes into, and the remaining digits are used to order records within that group. This makes filing faster and easier to update because new records slot into the correct terminal-digit group without reshuffling everything, and it speeds retrieval since you already know the group based on the final digits. It’s not done by alphabetical last name, not limited to immunization records, and not based on color coding. For example, a patient with an SSN ending in 47 would be filed in the 47 group, with the other digits determining the exact order inside that group.