Medical staff are entrusted with patients’ sensitive personal information and both paper and digital records must be kept securely
The HSE still relies on paper-based records. Photo: Stock/Getty Images
As an eager medical student, I requested a large bundle of patient charts for a research audit I was doing on breast cancer surgery. I asked the senior doctor I was working with, where was the best place to keep the charts until I had finished extracting the information I needed.
He winked and said, ‘I’ll show you.’ The ‘best place’ turned out to be the boot of his car, where the charts I had amassed joined dozens of others.