<Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This section does not cite any sources . Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (April 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> The outsourcing of medical record transcription and storage has the potential to violate patient - physician confidentiality by possibly allowing unaccountable persons access to patient data . Falsification of a medical record by a medical professional is a felony in most United States jurisdictions . Governments have often refused to disclose medical records of military personnel who have been used as experimental subjects . </P> <P> Given the series of medical data breaches and the lack of public trust, some countries have enacted laws requiring safeguards to be put in place to protect the security and confidentiality of medical information as it is shared electronically and to give patients some important rights to monitor their medical records and receive notification for loss and unauthorized acquisition of health information . The United States and the EU have imposed mandatory medical data breach notifications . </P> <P> Patients' medical information can be shared by a number of people both within the health care industry and beyond . The Health Insurance Portability and Accessibility Act (HIPAA) is a United States federal law pertaining to medical privacy that went into effect in 2003 . This law established standards for patient privacy in all 50 states, including the right of patients to access to their own records . HIPAA provides some protection, but does not resolve the issues involving medical records privacy . </P>

Who is allowed to access the information contained in a patient’s record