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confidentialty and collections



We have received donations recently of doctors' records. Some include
patient names, etc. These records are of visits to the doctor, reason,
diagnosis, and treatment. The records would be of interest to genealogists
as well as scholars studying a particular disease or methods of treatment,
etc.

How long should these records remain confidential? The census guideline of
75 years does not seem sufficient in all cases, since the patient or
children would not want those records made public. We will not make
records from 1925 to the present accessible, but we have questions about
1900-1925.

I would appreciate any advice on this issue. Thank you.

Heather S. Tennies
Archivist
Lancaster County Historical Society
230 N President
Lancaster, PA 17603
(717) 392-4633

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