Can access to information be given to a patient if it comes from a health service provider and is marked ‘confidential’?
The Act states that an organisation holds health information if it is in a document which is in the possession or under the control of the organisation, whether alone or jointly with other persons. The fact that another person created the information is not relevant to the question of access. A claim of confidentiality would not prevent the information from being accessible of itself, as s27(2) specifically does not exempt information given in confidence by a health service provider. Access could only be denied to it if one of the exceptions under HPP 6.1 Act applied to the information.
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