Who owns your medical data?

You know the file folders that line walls behind the receptionist at your doctor’s office? The ones with the first three letters of the last name in alphabetical order? That’s where your data is. Who owns it?

Your doctor does.

How many doctors, specialists or therapists have you seen in your lifetime? Do you know what that means? Dotted around the cities you’ve lived, little snippets of your medical past are owned by a bunch of people you don’t know very well. And you know what else? If you go to the doctor today with what turns out is a chronic illness that has been sneaking up on you for years, it’ll take your doctor weeks to pinpoint it.