Family Members Can
Access Medical Files,
Court Rules
The impossibility of
family members to access
medical files of their
loved ones prompted two
people to file an appeal
with the Sala
Constitucional or Sala
IV(Constitutional
Court), which yesterday
ruled in their favour.
The Sala IV ruled that,
in the first case, the
wife has the right to
see her husband's
medical file so that a
second medical opinion
on his condition can be
sought.
The action was brought
against the Hospital San
Juan de Dios to provide
the woman, identified
only by her last name
Alfaro, to immediately
hand over copies of her
husbands medical file.
The woman appealed to
the Sala IV when the
Departamento de Archivo
Clínico del Hospital San
Juan de Dios had told
her she could only get
the files abiding by
hospital rules, that is
that she could only get
partial copies of the
files between the hours
of 12pm and 3pm, Monday
to Friday, and after
April 22, she would have
to have an appointment
to get the entire file
copies.
In the second appeal
case before the court, a
woman identified only by
her last name Sandoval,
was refused access to
her dead mother's
medical file by the
Ebais de San Francisco
de Dos Ríos. The woman
wanted the medical file
to know her mothers
cause of death.
The woman told the Sala
IV that the medical
centre denied her access
to her mothers medical
records because she did
not have a judicial
order.
The Sala IV ordered that
the medical centre make
the file available to
Sandoval within three
days of the court order. |
