<P> In the United States, the data contained within the medical record belongs to the patient, whereas the physical form the data takes belongs to the entity responsible for maintaining the record per the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act . Patients have the right to ensure that the information contained in their record is accurate, and can petition their health care provider to amend factually incorrect information in their records . </P> <P> In the United Kingdom, ownership of the NHS's medical records has in the past generally been described as belonging to the Secretary of State for Health and this is taken by some to mean copyright also belongs to the authorities . </P> <P> In Germany, a relatively new law, which has been established in 2013, strengthens the rights of patients . It states, amongst other things, the statutory duty of medical personnel to document the treatment of the patient in either hard copy or within the electronic patient record (EPR). This documentation must happen in a timely manner and encompass each and every form of treatment the patient receives, as well as other necessary information, such as the patient's case history, diagnoses, findings, treatment results, therapies and their effects, surgical interventions and their effects, as well as informed consents . The information must include virtually everything that is of functional importance for the actual, but also for future treatment . This documentation must also include the medical report and must be archived by the attending physician for at least 10 years . The law clearly states that these records are not only memory aids for the physicians, but also should be kept for the patient and must be presented on request . </P> <P> In addition, an electronic health insurance card was issued in January 2014 which is applicable in Germany (Elektronische Gesundheitskarte or eGK), but also in the other member states of the European Union (European Health Insurance Card). It contains data such as: the name of the health insurance company, the validity period of the card, and personal information about the patient (name, date of birth, sex, address, health insurance number) as well information about the patient's insurance status and additional charges . Furthermore, it can contain medical data if agreed to by the patient . This data can include information concerning emergency care, prescriptions, an electronic medical record, and electronic physician's letters . However, due to the limited storage space (32kB), some information is deposited on servers . </P>

When should information be entered into a medical record