Can patients safely read their psychiatric records

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Reviewed in The effects of promoting patient access to medical records: a review.

Citation and Abstract

Med J Aust. 1994 Dec 5-19;161(11-12):665-6. Can patients safely read their psychiatric records? Implications of freedom of information legislation. Bloch S, Riddell CE, Sleep TJ.

Department of Psychiatry, St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, Vic.

OBJECTIVE: To assess how suitable psychiatric medical records are for access by patients. DESIGN: We examined a random selection of psychiatric records to identify features which we thought might be confusing or injurious to a patient reading his or her own record. RESULTS: Potentially offensive, alarming or upsetting entries were found in most records. CONCLUSION: Clinicians need to take care in recording information in medical records lest patients be adversely affected by the experience of reading their notes. Access should always be arranged in conjunction with a medical supervisor.

PMID: 7830632 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Related Links

• Patient access to records: tonic or toxin? [Am J Psychiatry. 1980]
• Should psychiatric patients be granted access to their hospital records? [Lancet. 1986]
• Patient access to medical records in a forensic center: a controlled study. [Hosp Community Psychiatry. 1987]
• Some consequences of granting patients access to consultants' records. [Lancet. 1986]
• ReviewLegal implications of patient records. [South Med J. 1979]