Who owns the records of patients when a clinician is an employee at a hospital?

• A. The local hospital
• B. The treating physician
• C. The patient
• D. The state bureaucracy

Answer: (A)

When a clinician works as an employee of a hospital, the hospital is the owner and custodian of the patient’s records. The clinician creates and maintains documentation as part of the hospital’s care system, so the records are hospital property for purposes of retention, confidentiality, and access controls. The patient, while entitled to access and obtain copies under privacy laws like HIPAA, does not own the records themselves. The other options don’t fit this scenario: the treating physician may draft the chart but does not own it when employed by the hospital; the patient’s rights pertain to access rather than ownership; and the state bureaucracy would only own records in state-run facilities, not a typical local hospital.