Dear Editor,
I would like to inform persons in Guyana that may have accessed services at a health facility, whether private or public, that they are entitled to receive reports on the care received by them, up to 10 years after, if it was an inpatient service and up to 5 years after if it was an outpatient service. These rights are embodied in sections of the Health facilities licensing Act administered by the Ministry of Health and also the Medical Practitioners Act which is administered by the Medical Council. The Health Facilities Licensing Act governs all health care institutions and applies uniformly to private and public health facilities.
A patient should not have to pay for a lawyer’s services to obtain their medical information, as the release of such information is already governed by the abovementioned Acts. Such information is often necessary to access the correct care for the present medical condition and it is nothing short of unethical and verging on being criminal, to prevent a patient from accessing the correct care at the right time because some doctors see it fit not to release their medical information.
There are certain hospitals that make it impossible to obtain such information and these hospitals and doctors should attract the attention of the Chief Medical Officer, the Medical Council, and the Department of Standards.
Unfortunately, in spite of multiple complaints to the Medical Council on the matter both by patients and doctors and in spite of appropriate legislation being in existence to prevent such egregious behaviour, the Council is dragging their feet on this issue.
The Medical council must be reminded that their primary duty is to protect the patients from the unethical behaviour of the Doctors registered to practice and not to protect the Doctors, which it appears to be indulging in presently.
Sincerely,
Dr. Madhu P. Singh, M.D
C.E.O
Dr. Balwant Singh’s Hospital Inc.