Outpatient records are the property of the?

The correct answer is that outpatient records are the property of the healthcare facility. This is significant because healthcare facilities maintain outpatient records as part of their operational management and legal requirements. While patients have rights to access their records and may request copies, the legal ownership and final authority over these records typically belong to the healthcare organization that created and maintains them. This ensures that the facility can manage patient information consistently and complies with regulations regarding privacy and data management.

In contrast, the individual practitioner may have access to the records for clinical purposes, but they do not own the documents themselves. Patients certainly have rights concerning their health information, such as access and confidentiality, but they do not own the records created during their care. The United States Government does not own these records either, although it does enforce regulations concerning their management through laws like HIPAA. Thus, the healthcare facility is the entity responsible for the overall custody and control of outpatient records.