PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - R. V. H. Jones AU - S. Jane Richards TI - Confidentiality and medical records DP - 1978 Mar 01 TA - The Journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners PG - 137--140 VI - 28 IP - 188 4099 - http://bjgp.org/content/28/188/137.short 4100 - http://bjgp.org/content/28/188/137.full SO - J R Coll Gen Pract1978 Mar 01; 28 AB - Protecting confidential information disclosed to doctors has been one of the most important ethical traditions of the medical profession. However, the patient's right to such confidentiality is threatened because it is legally unclear how far ownership by Government of the paper on which NHS records are kept or of the computer system in which they are stored confers right of access. We hope the medical profession will examine this problem urgently and offer some suggestions as to how patients' confidences can continue to be protected in the future.