The new legislation covering access to patient records was described as unworkable at the annual general meeting of the Irish Medical Organisation. Calling it "blunderbuss" legislation, Dr Denis Cusack, director of legal medicine in the UCD Medical Faculty, said it was so confusing that the Department of Health should carry out an information campaign before its introduction in October.
The Freedom of Information Act includes access to patient records. But Dr Cusack said a separate piece of "clear, simple" legislation, similar to that introduced in the UK, should have been enacted in Ireland.
Under the Act, public patients will have a right to their records. A series of public bodies is covered, including the Department of Health, the Blood Transfusion Service Board, Comhairle na nOspideal, the Irish Medicines Board and health boards.
But the Act does not at present cover non-health board hospitals, private clinics or private hospitals.
Health board chief executives rather than doctors would have the power to disclose the information for public patients. Under the data protection legislation all patients had the right to ask for records which were on computer.
However, despite the pending introduction of the Freedom of Information Act, private patients will still only have a right of access to computerised records held by their doctor.
In the future health boards would be deemed to be the holder of the records of public patients. It was more than likely that Chief Executive Officers would delegate this matter, he said.
Dr Cusack said the basic rule on patient records was that a request for personal information was to be refused unless asked for by the patient or someone nominated by the patient. However, there was a clause which stated that the request could be refused if the CEO felt it was prejudicial to the mental or emotional condition of the person requesting it. In that event a doctor might be nominated by the patient to look at the records.
Dr Cusack said that in general he welcomed the Freedom of Information legislation.