Why shouldn't individuals own their medical records? After all, these medical records contain their personal health information and were created for them. Lab work is literally a part of the patient -- why should other people own that? Along with the demand for efficiency, patients feel that lives are at stake when their doctors don’t have access to their complete medication history. Most patients (93 percent) feel doctors would save time if their medication history was stored in one location, and 90 percent feel that this would make their doctor less likely to prescribe the wrong medication. Patients should be given access to their records, in a timely matter, and at a reasonable cost. After all, since much of one’s record contains data on biological tissues, and images of a person’s body parts, it is hard to argue that patients should not be given access to this information.
Patients have a right to view or obtain a copy of their medical and billing information.
If a patient would like a copy of their medical record sent to a third party, they have a right to have the practice do so.
Remember that many patients are sick and have asked family members or other caregivers to help them access their records.
A patient's access cannot be denied because the practice believes that access is not in the patient's best interest.