O(s) Acesso(s) dos Estudantes de Medicina, dos Anos Clínicos, à Informação de Saúde, aos Registos Clínicos, que se encontram na posse e à guarda legal e institucional das Unidades de Saúde Públicas: qual a realidade atualmente vigente em Portugal e quais as regulamentações necessárias?

Abstract

The access to the patient and to his health information, to his clinical records, by medical students, from the clinical years, is of unquestionable importance and unavoidable necessity, constituting one of the basic pillars of medical training, so a cross-sectional observational study, in order to access what is the reality currently in force in Portugal and what regulations are needed, is assumed to be of extreme pertinence, relevance and importance. In fact, it's evident that the current reality in Portugal is based not only on a bibliographic void, but also on a regulatory void regarding the Access(s) of Medical Students, of the Clinical Years, to Health Information, to the Clinical Records, which are in the possession and legal and institutional custody of Public Health Units - the literature on this subject is almost non-existent (something that has been proven with the results of the bibliographic research carried out), with practically all medical students, namely those in clinical years, in Portugal, access daily, improperly and illegitimately, to clinical records, through the credentials of their tutors (something that emerged from the answers to the questionnaire applied to the Presidents of all Associations / Student Groups from all (eight) Faculties of Medicine in Portugal). Therefore, it is assumed that it is indisputably crucial to generate more knowledge and studies in this area, not only to fill the bibliographic gap, but also, and mainly, to fill the regulatory gap. In that regard, with that objective, the present thesis sought, and succeeded, to demonstrate and prove that the current Portuguese legal system has a positive and a sufficient legal framework to develop and to implement the needed regulations in the Access(s) of Medical Students, of the Clinical Years, to Health Information, to the Clinical Records, which are in the possession and legal and institutional custody of Public Health Units; regulations that ensure, and make compatible, the rights and duties of medical students, the constitutional rights of holders of clinical records (privacy, secrecy and confidentiality), as well as the responsibilities and needs of hospitals and faculties.