Do documents created during the open disclosure process have any special status?
No. Any documents created during the open disclosure process should be treated in the same way as any other part of a patient’s clinical record. They should also be retained in accordance with the State Records Act and guidelines. Documents relating to open disclosure may be provided to patients on request, produced under Freedom of Information legislation, or in answer to a subpoena. Patients can also request access to records relating to them, and request amendments to their records, if the records contain incomplete or misleading information, pursuant to the Health Records and Information Privacy Act. Just like clinical records, health care professionals should take care when creating documents to ensure that they do not contain inappropriate language, and are accurate. As far as is possible, only verified facts should be contained in documents. Documents should not: • attribute blame to any health care professional or PHO • record opinions, unless the opinions are expert opinions a
