Freedom of Information Act in AU

[tree_hugger]

Does anyone have any information or links regarding the FOI Act?

I am trying to find out what my rights are regarding obtaining copies of medical/hospital records, and I am having a difficult time sifting through all the articles on the 'net.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. :)

[JanetF]

Hi Kathleen
I got my medical record from a hospital in Melbourne. It was a pretty simple process.

Contact the hospital and tell them you want your record. What they should do is send you a FOI form to fill in. You fill it in and post it back and they contact you to tell you how much it will cost. They like to charge for photocopying! You post them a cheque and then your record arrives.

If it's too stressful to ring the hospital yourself, ask a friend to pretend to be you and just fill in the forms when they arrive. I run a group for women recovering from birth trauma and the only women I've seen have trouble with the process are those that the hospital is deliberately keeping something from. I'm in Melbourne and our online members are from all over Australia. Some private OBs are really narky about handing over the record but it is YOURS! :D You can also get a private midwife or GP to order the record for you and it will be sent to them, often for free.

Feel free to email or join the group in my sig if this applies to you.

Best wishes,
J