The currency of personal medical data

doi:10.1136/bmj.b218

Published 20 January 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b218
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b218

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The currency of personal medical data

Trisha Greenhalgh, professor of primary health care, University College London

p.greenhalgh@pcps.ucl.ac.uk

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

During the US presidential election campaign John McCain made1200 pages of his medical records from the Mayo Clinic availableto journalists. He did this to prove that his recurrent skincancers were under control and that despite two bayonet woundsand torture scars from five years as a prisoner of war he waspsychologically unscathed, "considerably younger than his chronologicalage," and fit to lead America. Barack Obama parried with a onepage statement from his physician saying that he had no significantmedical history, a blood pressure of 90/60 mm Hg, a pulse of60, a "lean, muscular frame with no excess body fat," and anormal electrocardiogram. His cholesterol concentrations wereat the lower end of the normal range, and his only medicationwas nicotine chewing gum, which he took intermittently.