| Access to Clinical Records |
12 Apr 08 |
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According to NCOSS (Council of Social Service of NSW), residents' access to medical and care records is a necessary pre-requisite to the protection of their rights within nursing homes. It expressed concerns that the Aged Care Act 1997 fails to provide for satisfactory access to clinical records by residents of residential care services (NCOSS, Older people in Nursing Homes). Resident advocacy groups in NSW have expressed concern to the NSW Department of Health Review of the Nursing Homes Act 1988 (NSW) that the right that nursing home residents currently have to access their clinical records will not be replaced if the Act is repealed. (NSW Department of Health, Review of the Nursing Homes Act - Issues Paper) Residents and their representatives often need to see or obtain copies of their records held by nursing homes. At times, records are needed for new health care providers, or just to obtain needed information. All residents and/or their representatives, should have the right to access all records pertaining to the resident upon oral or written request. While the nursing home "owns" the resident’s medical records, a resident should have the right to the information. Requests to see or obtain copies of medical records should be made during normal business hours, and the request should not interfere with the health care being provided. An oral request should be sufficient. What if the nursing home refuses to let me see or copy records? Most nursing homes will give their residents access to their records. However, some may refuse. When a nursing home refuses to grant access to records, a formal complaint against the nursing home can be filed with the Aged Care Complaints Investigation Scheme. If you would like more assistance with obtaining nursing home records, simply fill out the contact form on the website with details of your request. Newer articles:
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