As more households regard companion animals as family, requests to see veterinary clinic records (charts) have grown alongside. Such requests are often refused, and the question has now reached the Constitutional Court.
Why the Difference From Human Medicine — A Gap Between the Medical Service Act and the Veterinarians Act
People: article 21(1) of the Medical Service Act provides that a patient may request inspection of, and copies of, their own medical records, and that a medical professional may not refuse without just cause.
Animals: article 13 of the Veterinarians Act imposes on veterinarians only a duty to prepare and retain treatment and examination records; it contains no provision allowing an owner to inspect or copy them. That gap is where the disputes begin.
The Issue — Does "Legislative Omission" Infringe a Fundamental Right?
This constitutional complaint argues that the gap in the legislation — the Veterinarians Act's failure to provide a right of inspection and copying, that is, a legislative omission — infringes owners' fundamental rights, including the right to know and property rights. A legislative omission will be held unconstitutional, however, only under strict requirements: the Constitution must have expressly delegated the legislation, or the National Assembly's duty to legislate for the protection of fundamental rights must be plain.
Practical Significance
As veterinary clinics have grown larger and treatment more expensive, medical disputes have increased — yet owners have often been unable to contest negligence or over-treatment properly for want of the key evidence, the treatment record. As a party to the treatment contract, an owner can assert both consumer rights to verify the specific content of the service (treatment) they paid for and the right to informational self-determination.
There is discussion that the Constitutional Court may recognize the need for disclosure of treatment records while leaving the design of any specific regime to the National Assembly. Law Firm Changchun follows changes in the law and in regulatory frameworks and offers our clients practical solutions. (This article is general legal information; the conclusion in any individual matter may differ.)