Union health ministry to issue instructions to ensure medical records
Picture used for representational purpose. (Photo: PTI/File)
New Delhi: The law ministry has opined that patients have a right to get their medical records from hospitals and the Union health ministry should issue instructions to ensure that such documents are not denied.
The law ministry has stated that “most of the time the hospital authorities do not provide details of the medical record or the treatment given to a patient.” Sources in the law ministry said easy availability of medical records will help patients avoid approaching courts or quasi judicial bodies for remedy. He said the instructions can be issued based on the CIC order issued in a case related to a R&AW official.
Union law secretary P.K. Malhotra has, in a letter to Union health secretary Lov Verma, said that according to the CIC’s July 23 order, a patient has a right to his/her medical record which is rooted in Article 19 and 21 of the Constitution and the hospital authorities have a duty to provide the same under RTI Act, Consumer Protection Act, Medical Council Act and world medical ethics dealt with constitutional rights.
“If there are existing instructions to this effect, the same need to be reiterated and the concerned authorities sensitised about the same,” he wrote.
( Source : dc correspondent )
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