The core patient records will contain a set of important and critical health information about a patient (e.g. medications, allergies, etc) that may prove to be necessary in case of emergency; these will be made available to the relevant healthcare services, no matter the place a patient will seek medical treatment from.

In the light of this initiative, Anne-Grete Strøm-Erichsen, the Minister of Health and Care Services, said: “In cases of emergency, lives can be saved if healthcare professionals have fast access to the patients’ basic and essential health data. For example, to prevent medication errors, which can be life threatening.”

The core patient records are part of the Government's Information and Communication Technology (ICT) operations. For 2012 an amount of NOK 85 million (approx. €11.2 million) has already been planned to be mobilised in this framework; the Directorate of Health is expected to start a pilot project on behalf of the Health and Care Services Ministry in 2013.

Access to patients’ records will be provided in a more appropriate manner than currently, with healthcare professionals being able to access a set of the most important data of a patient.

The proposal protects patients' integrity and their healthcare needs in an effective and pragmatic way. It is worth noting that everyone will have the right to decide if s/he wants a core medical record.

Further information:

• Original news article - Ministry of Health and Care Services (in Norwegian)
• Information on core patient records - Directorate of Health (in Norwegian)
• Additional information on the core patient records (in Norwegian)