Patientens rätt att ta del av sin journal. En integritets- och patientsäkerhetsanalys av vårdgivarens möjlighet att medge direktåtkomst via nätet.

Sammanfattning: Summary This essay examines the rule in the Swedish Patient Data Act (Patientdatalagen), which says that it is possible to give the patient access to his/her medical record via the Internet. The aim with the essay is to examine whether the computerization of health care in Sweden has had any impact on the patient’s right to information about his/her medical status. By examining this, the essay analyses the rule that gives the patient access to his/her medical record via the Internet, from a patient safety and an integrity perspective. In Sweden, a medical record in public health care has the legal status of a public document. This means that medical records are included in the Swedish principle of public access to official records. But Sweden also has rules concerning patient secrecy. These rules are gathered in the Public Access to Information and Secrecy Act. The fundamental principle in this Act is that no one in the health care system is permitted to release information about the patient without the patient's consent. However the Public Access to Information and Secrecy Act also states that in most cases, there is no secrecy towards the patient. The first question in this essay seeks to find an answer to whether the patient’s right to read his/her medical record has varied from 1930 until today. One result from this historical perspective is that the patient’s right to read his/her medical record has increased. The second question in this essay seeks to find an answer to what legal rights the patient has to information about his/her medical status. The essay answers this question by examining the Patient Act and the Patient Data Act. This examination shows that the patient’s right to information is an important principle in Swedish health care. It is even argued that the principle can be derived from the constitutional prohibition of subjecting anyone to a forced bodily intervention. However, it is also shown that there are a few situations in which the patient is not allowed to read his/her medical record. The essay’s third and last question deals with the process of implementing the rule that allows the patient access to his/her medical record via the Internet. One result from studying this process is that the technical system used for providing this e-service, has problems reaching up to the legal terms in the Patient Data Act. To conclude, the present e-services that allow patients access to their medical record, can be criticized both from a patient safety and an integrity perspective. Still, access to the medical record via the Internet, can be a valuable service for the patient. However, the e-service used for this, will probably have to be improved in order to fulfill the legal terms in the Swedish Patient Data Act.