Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dsjbd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T12:22:50.531Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Patient access to psychiatric records: experience in an in-patient unit

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Nick Kosky  and
Tom Burns
Nick Kosky
Affiliation:
Section of Community Psychiatry, Department of Mental Health Sciences, St George's Hospital Medical School Jenner Wing, Cranmer Terrace, Tooting, London, SW17 ORE
Tom Burns
Affiliation:
Section of Community Psychiatry, Department of Mental Health Sciences, St George's Hospital Medical School Jenner Wing, Cranmer Terrace, Tooting, London, SW17 ORE
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Forty of 46 consecutive admissions to a psychiatric inpatient unit were encouraged to read their admission notes and discuss them with the Junior doctor. The offer was withheld for two patients with organic impairment. Twenty-eight patients (including 12 on compulsory admissions) accepted the offer. The 12 who refused were characterised by overall lower educational attainment. Diagnosis raised only a few problems, prognosis and maintenance treatment being the focus of most discussions. There was no evidence of a deterioration in the quality of notes or therapeutic relationships as a consequence of access. Only in one case was the exercise judged ‘harmful’, but ‘useful or essential’ in 22. Possible benefits for both patients and doctor are explored.

Type
Original Papers
Information
Psychiatric Bulletin , Volume 19 , Issue 2: The Journal of Trends in Psychiatric Practice , February 1995 , pp. 87 - 90
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1995

References

Anderson, T. & Jorgensen, G. (1988) Danish experience of statutory right of patients to access hospital records. Lancet 2, 1428.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baldry, M., Cheal, C., Fisher, B., Gillet, M. & Huet, V. (1986) Giving patients their own records in general practice: the experiences of patients and staff. British Medical Journal 282, 596–598.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bird, A. P. & Wailji, M. T. I. (1986) Our patients have access to their medical records. British Medical Journal 202, 595–596.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harding, C. M., Zubin, J. & Strauss, J. S. (1987) Chronicity in schizophrenia: fact partial fact, or artifact? Hospital and Community Psychiatry, 38, 477–486.Google ScholarPubMed
Mcfarlane, W. J. G., Bowman, R. G. & Macinnes, M. (1980) Patient access to medical records in a forensic centre – a controlled study. Hospital and Community Psychiatry, 10, 1081–1085.Google Scholar
Miller, R. D., Morrow, B., Kaye, M. & Mater, G. J. (1987) Patient access to medical records in a forensic centre – a controlled study. Hospital & Community Psychiatry, 10, 1081–1085.Google Scholar
Parrott, J., Strathdee, G. & Brown, P. (1988) Patient access to psychiatric records: the patient's view. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 81, 520–522.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sergeant, H. (1986) Should psychiatric patients be granted access to their hospital records? Lancet 2, 1322–1325.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stevens, D. P., Stagg, R. & Mackay, R. (1977) What happens when hospitalised patients see their own records. Annals of Internal Medicine, 86, 474–477.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tuckett, D., Boulton, M., Olson, C. & Williams, A. (1985) Meetings between Experts: an approach to sharing ideas in medical consultations. London & New York: Tavistock Publications.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.