Abstract

KIE: Practitioners report on their experience in providing access to medical records to their inner city, multiethnic patients in Birmingham, England. At each visit, patients are given their files to keep until their consultation, and new patients are told they may read them at any visit. It is rarely necessary to withhold information from patients permanently; bad news, for example, is withheld only until it can be discussed with a physician. Other instances of nondisclosure occur by patient or physician request or when a patient is severely disturbed. A study of 100 randomly selected patients showed appreciable satisfaction with record access. Reactions from medical colleagues have been varied.