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Article: Double indignity; you can't see your medical records - but everyone else can.
- Article from:
- The Washington Monthly
- Article date:
- October 1, 1986
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1986 Washington Monthly Company. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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DOUBLE INDIGNITY
Ed Mulligan set up his picket in front of Community-General Hospital in Syracuse, New York, in August 1976. Community-General had seen pickets before, but this one was different. Mulligan wasn't demanding higher wages or making a political statement. He wanted the hospital to give him something it had denied him for more than three years: a copy of his medical records.
After four years of illness and two operations, the 71-year-old cancer victim had requested a copy of his records from Community-General. When the hospital denied him access to all but the results of a few tests, Mulligan filed a $440,000 lawsuit. Since New York does ...