AN INTRIGUING QUESTION

I have run afoul of the following scenario and would love to know what the law says on this. You can direct your comments to me or to the list.

A patient goes to a doctor to have a test performed. The doctor refers the patient to a clinic that performs the test. The clinic is a private business. The patient has the test and then requests a personal copy of the data. The clinic refuses on the grounds that they own the data. The patient never signed any paperwork to that effect. Who owns the data? Does the clinic have the right to deny the patient access.

The exact scenario is as follows. Patient has a referall for portable cardiac monitoring. The patient wants the cassette or a copy containing the results of the 24hour monitoring of the heart beat. Company refuses on the grounds that they own the information. What rights does the patient have in this situation?

Matthew

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Matthew Witten
UT System Center For High Performance Computing
Balcones Research Center, 1.154 CMS
10100 Burnet Road, Austin, TX 78758-4497 USA

Phone: (512) 471-2472  FAX: (512) 471-2445  

E-MAIL  MWITTEN[_at_]CHPC.UTEXAS.EDU


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