What rights does a patient have regarding access to their medical records?

• A. The right to inspect and obtain copies of their records and request amendments or corrections where appropriate.
• B. The right to delete all records after 1 year.
• C. The right to share records publicly.
• D. No rights.

Answer: (C)

Access to medical records is about a patient’s right to know what is in their file and to help ensure that information is correct. The best choice reflects that patients can inspect their records, obtain copies of them, and request amendments or corrections when something is inaccurate or incomplete. This supports informed participation in care and helps catch errors that could affect treatment or billing. In many health systems, providers must respond within a set timeframe and may charge reasonable fees for copies, but the core rights are about access and correction.

Deleting records after a set period or sharing records publicly without authorization isn’t allowed by default, and having no rights isn’t accurate, since patients do have established access rights under privacy laws.