After outlining the contents of a medical record, the article examines the concept of medical confidentiality (Penal Code, Code of Medical Ethics, Data Protection Act) and the limitations on a patient’s access to their hospital records, notably the requirement to go through a physician, which aims to provide better information and potentially downplay the impact of the information through the doctor-patient exchange. The Data Protection Act does, however, authorize the correction or deletion of information from the record at the patient’s request. In private practice, access to the record does not pose any of these problems.