Access to Health Records Act 1990

1 “Health record” and related expressions. E+W+S

(1) In this Act “health record” means a record which—

(a) consists of information relating to the physical or mental health of an individual who can be identified from that information, or from that and other information in the possession of the holder of the record; and

(b) has been made by or on behalf of a health professional in connection with the care of that individual;

but does not include any record which consists of information of which the individual is, or but for any exemption would be, entitled to be supplied with a copy under section 21 of the M1 Data Protection Act 1984 (right of access to personal data).

(2) In this Act “holder”, in relation to a health record, means—

(a) in the case of a record made by, or by a health professional employed by, a general practitioner—

(i) the patient’s general practitioner, that is to say, the general practitioner on whose list the patient is included; or

(ii) where the patient has no general practitioner, the [F1 Health Authority] or Health Board on whose medical list the patient’s most recent general practitioner was included;

(b) in the case of a record made by a health professional for purposes connected with the provision of health services by a health service body, the health service body by which or on whose behalf the record is held;

(c) in any other case, the health professional by whom or on whose behalf the record is held.

(3) In this Act “patient”, in relation to a health record, means the individual in connection with whose care the record has been made.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in s. 1(2)(a)(ii) substituted (28.6.1995) by 1995 c. 17, s. 2(1), Sch. 1 Pt. III para. 119(2) (with Sch. 2 paras. 6, 16)

Marginal Citations

M1 1984 c. 35.