Medical records of deceased person

Snugglebunnies

Is it possible to apply for a deceased person's medical records under the freedom of information act.

My daughter's father died several years ago, we were never married. I have reason for wanting these records relating to my daughters health.

Is the possible to do? Can I get them in behalf of my child?

Thanks

Victor

Sorry to hear of this.

At a minimum, cause of death will be available on a death certificate. However, in the case of a car crash this may be something like "multiple blunt trauma". For other situations, direct cause of death may not necessarily explain underlying cause of death or underlying illness

I had thought there was a restriction, using the argument that people might not be forthcoming to medical staff if they knew that information could later be sought be others. These are related cases: http://www.oic.gov.ie/en/Decisions/Decisions-List/Ms-X-and-the-Rotunda-Hospital.html

http://www.supremecourt.ie/supremecourt/sclibrary3.nsf/(WebFiles)/E6C392EBD0578C53802578D20038B91B/$FILE/Rotunda%20Hospital%20v.%20Information%20Commissioner.pdf

However, it does seem to be possible in certain cases: https://rotunda.ie/knowledgebase/patient-freedom-of-information/

Accessing records of the deceased:
The Rotunda Hospital believes that all patient information has been provided to us confidentially and you may not be given access to another person’s records. Applications for the personal information of someone who is deceased are only processed under the Freedom of Information Act. Each request is considered based on the information provided.

The death certificate of the deceased must accompany the request along with proof of your relationship.

Also: http://www.mater.ie/patients/your-medical-records/

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/health/legal_matters_and_health/access_to_medical_records.html

Access to a deceased person's records

In the case of a deceased person, access to the personal information may be granted:

To the personal representative who is administering the estate of the deceased
To a person who is performing some legal function in relation to the individual or the estate of the individual
To the spouse (including a divorced spouse or cohabitee) or next of kin or such other person as the head of the public body considers appropriate

Do you know who was listed as next of kin in his medicial records?

Mr. Incognito

Freedom of inforamation- No. They are private confidential medical records.

Data Protection covers the person concerned.

I'd go to a solicitor. Probably will need a court order.

testicles

This post has been deleted.

Snugglebunnies

Victor wrote:

Do you know who was listed as next of kin in his medicial records?

Next of kin probably would have been his mother, however we have no contact with her.

Riskymove

Snugglebunnies wrote: »

Is it possible to apply for a deceased person's medical records under the freedom of information act.

it is actually possible

The next of kin can seek records so it would depend who would be considered NOK in this case, it could be your daughter

http://foi.gov.ie/download/cpu-notice-25-access-to-records-relating-to-deceased-persons-prepared-under-section-378-of-the-freedom-of-information-act-2014/

Riskymove

Mr. Incognito wrote: »

Freedom of inforamation- No.

this is incorrect, see my other post

Snugglebunnies

Riskymove wrote:

The next of kin can seek records so it would depend who would be considered NOK in this case, it could be your daughter

Would he of have to have specified that our daughter was his next of kin? If so I really doubt he ever did that.

NUTLEY BOY

Ask the office of Data Protection and the office of the Information Commissioner for initial guidance on who can ask and for what.

Links ;

https://www.dataprotection.ie/docs/Home/4.htm

http://www.oic.gov.ie/en/

Generally, I would be surprised if the information was not accessible in some way to a person having close standing to the deceased.

Ask the above bodies if the information is accessible to the executors / legal personal representatives of the deceased's estate.

lifeandtimes

Is it possible that your daughter's doctors could make a request for these and hold them confidentially and advise your daughter of any family history health problems that are hereditary?

la ultima guagua

FWIW I requested and was provided with the MRs for my late mother. However I was PR for the estate .Who is PR in this case ?

Snugglebunnies

la ultima guagua wrote:

FWIW I requested and was provided with the MRs for my late mother. However I was PR for the estate .Who is PR in this case ?

He had no will. His mother kept everything seeing as we were not married. I presume it would be her in this case?

seagull

Your best option might be to go to your doctor, and ask him to write to the father's doctor asking whether there is anything in the medical records that would have any bearing on your daughter's health. You don't need to have access to his full medical record, only to know if there are any hereditary conditions.

Riskymove

Snugglebunnies wrote: »

Would he of have to have specified that our daughter was his next of kin? If so I really doubt he ever did that.

doesn't matter

A child ("issue") heads the list of people who could be considered next of kin in these circumstances

Peregrinus

Snugglebunnies wrote: »

He had no will. His mother kept everything seeing as we were not married. I presume it would be her in this case?

It would be his daughter. (And she was also his next-of-kin for inheritance purposes.)

Snugglebunnies

Peregrinus wrote:

It would be his daughter. (And she was also his next-of-kin for inheritance purposes.)

I knew about the inheritance alright. His mother went crazy when I mentioned that to her before so I never pursued it. That's why I feel I can't go through her for the records.

davo10

seagull wrote: »

Your best option might be to go to your doctor, and ask him to write to the father's doctor asking whether there is anything in the medical records that would have any bearing on your daughter's health. You don't need to have access to his full medical record, only to know if there are any hereditary conditions.

Fathers Doctor cannot reveal this information. There are no "degrees" of patient confidentiality, it is sacrosanct. Op, you need to talk to your solicitor or contact the Medical Council for advice. If the information is revealed inappropriately by your fathers GP, he could be severely censured by the Med Council and sued by next of kin.

Peregrinus

davo10 wrote: »

Fathers Doctor cannot reveal this information. There are no "degrees" of patient confidentiality, it is sacrosanct. Op, you need to talk to your solicitor or contact the Medical Council for advice. If the information is revealed inappropriately by your fathers GP, he could be severely censured by the Med Council and sued by next of kin.

Next of kin is the daughter on whose behalf the information is requested. You can't sue a doctor for releasing information which you yourself requested him to release.

davo10

Peregrinus wrote: »

Next of kin is the daughter on whose behalf the information is requested. You can't sue a doctor for releasing information which you yourself requested him to release.

The GP will still seek clarification from MC and a copy of birth certificate to confirm his/her patient is the child's father before records are released. This is best done through a solicitor. I, like many other GPs/healthcare professionals have had people request records they were not legally entitled to. Due to the seriousness of consequences, both reputational and professional, these records will not be handed over without careful checks have been made.

As with your own profession, you cannot hand over legal files just because someone claims to be their relative without first checking the validity and legality of the handover.

Peregrinus

Sure. But once it's properly established that daughter is the next-of-kin, there shouldn't be any great difficulty about getting the medical records. There shouldn't be any need to invoke the Freedom of Information Act (which in any case isn't relevant here) and the deceased's mother need never even know about this - it is none of her business, and precisely because of concerns about patient confidentiality the doctor will not mention the matter to her - so there should be no bad feeling from that quarter.

davo10

Once the daughter is established as next of kin, no one else matters, the father's mother has no say nor control over the records. The ops solicitor just needs to have all paperwork in order. No need to reference FOI nor DP, you are entitled to the records. I ran the paperwork requests through the Council and indemnity company to ensure I was compliant with confidentiality legislation, once that comes back ok, records are available for collection.

This takes only a couple of days. It goes without saying, no birth cert or if fathers name is not on it moves the goalposts.