“With the advent of the electronic era, I believe a major deficiency of common law is its failure to provide the person who is the subject of a medical record with a right of access to that record. While legislation gives Australians an enforceable right of access to public sector health records, this is not generally the case for records created by private practitioners or agencies, as highlighted by the 1996 High Court decision in Breen v Williams. In this test case, a consumer was denied access to records held by her plastic surgeon, sought for the purpose of legal action against the manufacturer of silicone breast implants. The difference in right to access between the public and private sectors is surprising given the extensive interrelationships between public and private healthcare in this country, and the worldwide efforts to ensure that people have access to files — including medical records — kept about them. Australia is now lagging behind most of the developed world in this regard (see Box). Why is addressing this issue so important?”
Meredith Carter, Medical Journal of Australia, 1998; 169: 596-597
