title: Can I read my own hospital notes?
abstract: Notes made about you while you are in any health setting are not yours. If it is an NHS hospital, they belong to the health secretary; if it is a private hospital, they belong to the consultant or the hospital itself. If something belongs to someone else, you do not have a right to it. The Data Protection Act 1998 allows you to access your health records, but this usually means you receive a copy rather than obtaining and holding the originals.
authors.affiliation: Open University.
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cornock
mesh_terms: D022126:Access to Information; D006801:Humans; D016347:Medical Records Systems, Computerized; D013222:State Medicine; D006113:United Kingdom