A patient is entitled to know the identity of the nurse who wrote the journal entry

A nurse at a municipal urgent care service wrote a medical record note following a consultation with an eight‑year‑old boy and his mother. The nurse’s full name did not appear in the record; only the nurse’s initials had been entered. The boy’s parents later requested disclosure of the name of the person who had written the note. The municipality refused to provide this information, referring to its duty under the Working Environment Act to protect the nurse’s working environment.

The Supreme Court concluded that the boy and his parents were entitled to know the name of the nurse who wrote the medical record note.

The Court held that a patient record must contain information that makes it possible to identify the person who has made each entry. As a general rule, the full name must be stated. If initials are used for practical reasons, this may be accepted, provided that the rules on access are applied in such a way that the patient may obtain the identity of the person who made the entry.

None of the exceptions to the right of access apply in this case.

The judgment clarifies patients’ right to know who has authored their medical records.

Read the judgment from the Supreme Court (Norwegian only) (PDF)

Areas of law: Health law, patient and user rights, section 5-1 of the Patient and User Rights Act, section 40 of the Health Personnel Act

Key paragraphs: 39, 40, 49

Justices: Bull, Bergsjø, Østensen Berglund, Hellerslia, Lund

Justices: Bull, Bergsjø, Østensen Berglund, Hellerslia, Lund