Read your own medical records
You have the right to read your medical records, and you can also order copies.
The current rules state that you must provide your consent if others are to be able to read your records. Special rules apply for children younger than 18 years and others with a declaration of incapacity.
What to do
Contact the healthcare centre, department or unit you have attended, and inform them of the range of dates for which you are interested in reading your medical records. You will also need to state your full name, personal ID number, postal address and telephone number.
If you have attended more than one healthcare facility, you will need to contact each one separately.
Cost
If you have extensive medical records, or if you would like to receive several copies, you may be required to pay for the cost of producing the copies you receive.
There is no charge for copies of up to nine pages. The tenth page will incur a cost of SEK 50. All subsequent pages will cost SEK 2 each.
You will also have to pay an additional fee for advance postage and for registered post.
Once yearly, you are also entitled to request an extract from all registers in which you feature, with no charge.
Exceptions
In exceptional cases, or at a particular point during your treatment, there may be medical reasons that mean that it would be inappropriate for you to have access to your records in their entirety.
Therefore, your doctor will always make an assessment as to whether access to your records can be granted. The same applies if you have authorised a close relative/friend to request a copy of your records.
The reason for this is purely in consideration of your best interests, and there must be very strong reasons for access to your records to be denied. If your request to access your records is denied, you may appeal against this decision. Information about how to do this will be included with the written explanation of the rejection of your request.
As a parent/guardian, you are ordinarily entitled to access your child’s medical records, but, as the child gets older (i.e. becomes a teenager), the child must often also provide their consent. Access to records will not be granted if there is a suspicion that the child may be in danger or that the parent/guardian is not able to protect the child.