hey guys when you see a psychiatrist or a psycologist, does it go onto your medical record? do the medications you get prescribed go on it? I am just curious... is it only physical medical conditions? Also can the government just get my medical records or look them up with a computer? Are all medical records from all doctors combined? I tried to google this but i had no luck.

I don't know where you are from but in the UK medical records are kept on all medical matters. My GP records will show that I am seeing a psychiatrist and am on psychiatric medication and that I have been at a Therapeutic Community, also that I suffer from depression.

Any admissions to hospital whether psychiatic or physical will also be recorded. I don't know whether the 'govt' can get my medical records but other organisations won't be able to access my records unless I authorise them.

I know that I had to give permission to the Driver & Vehicle Licensing Authority to be able to contact my Dr after I had a couple of seizures because of an overdose. But I knew they had to do that otherwise I would have lost my license.

My psychiatrist keeps my GP informed of what meds I'm on and that he is still seeing me but any other notes are kept at the psychiatric hospital.

Any notes from inpatient admissions at the general medical hospital are kept there at the hospital. They only inform my GP what I was admitted with and when discharged and any followup like meds or appointments.

I'd assume that the States might be similar.

If you are not sure about what access different organisations have then ask your GP or primary Dr.


I suppose if I became a danger to myself or others and the police became involved they might get some info from my drs, likewise the local Mental Health Officer might get some information if it was in my best interests.

Apart from this I don't think the Govt can get access to my med records.

I suppose that medical records may in future be computerised and would therefore be able to be combined. There certainly was some talk of that in the UK recently and worries that civil servant staff might be able to look up records of individuals but that is in the future.

As a comptuer programmer I know that it is easy to programme in safeguards so that people only have restricted access to data. Levels of protection can be programmed in so that say a Social Security Person would only have access to minimal information whilst Drs would have fuller access to records. Likewise receptionists would only have access to basic personal information like name, DOB, address, Unit No etc.

In the UK we have right of access to all our records. I have got copies of my psychiatric records (at a small cost) so I know what is kept about me on computer (just details of outpatient dates and inpatient dates) and what has been written by psychiatrists and therapists.

Are you worried that employers might gain access to medical records?

Your medical records are private and anything that happens during a doctors' visit, including the prescribed meds and results from medical testing become a part of your records.

If you have hospitalization at work and you sign a form to authorize payment to the doctor, you insurance has a right to review your records to see if the visit qualifies for payment. Usually this comes down to a code that all doctors use for different diagnosis of what ever the finding are during the visit.

when you see your doc, at some point, usually during the first visit, you sign a form that gives you the right to allow anyone you appoint to have access to your records. Noone else has any right to your records after that.

People who work in the doctors' office only have permission to view your record if they have a function to perform with it. The lady at the front desk cannot see the contents of your record. Other employees cannot see your record, ect. It's against the law and a violation of the newer HIPPA laws. Anyone who does look at your record for whatever function, signs a form stating that they are not allowed to discuss the contents with anyone outside of the office, and then for specific purposes, only. Your records are confidential.

If this doesn't answer your specific question, let me know. I have worked in an office and have knowledge of the records and the laws behind them.

Your records can be viewed only by people whom you specifically authorise to view them, and then you can specifically address the information you will allow them to see, and for how long of a duration. For example, if you were to become involved in an accident and your insurance company wanted to see your treatment records, you can specify what testing they are allowed to look at and the dates of service that you were in treatment for the accident; not your whole record, and then only for the amount of time you specify, say two months, during treatment. You can be very specific.

This is how the laws work in the US. You can also view your records any time you choose. You just have to ask the doctor. You can have your chart transferred to another doc or specific parts of it.... Usually, if your doc is sending you to see another doc, they send a report of treatment, siagnosis, meds ordered and results. Not the nitty-gritty that happens in the office, like conversations. There is usually a charge for doing this. You may have seen signs posted in your doctors' office addressing this.

Jackie