Why patients should keep their own records.

ABSTRACT

Too many people now have access to confidential medical information. Patients are becoming justifiably wary and the doctor-patient relationship is deteriorating. We can avert the developing crisis by allowing patients to keep their own medical records at home. This will ensure that confidentiality is respected and that patients continue to trust their doctors.

ABSTRACT

KIE Coleman maintains that patients are becoming less trusting of physicians, and less willing to provide personal information relevant to their care, because too many people have access to confidential medical records at the same time that the patient has no such access. The author believes that only those directly concerned with the medical care of patients should have access to medical information without the patient's consent. He recommends that patients be allowed to keep their own medical records at home, bringing them to the hospital or the physician as needed.