Patients Who Read Their Hospital Charts

Abstract

One controversial aspect of the current emphasis on patients' rights involves the issue of access to one's own medical records. The right to obtain one's own record in federal institutions has been established by law.¹ Several states have laws similar to the federal one, and in Massachusetts the Board of Registration in Medicine has even passed a regulation requiring physicians to make office notes available on demand.² Despite legal trends, controversy still exists about the effect of record reading on clinical care. Some suggest that the routine issuance of records to patients will foster more mutually respectful doctor–patient relations and . . .