Accessibility of past medical records for an undercover cop
I've trawled for answers to this, but it's all a bit situation-specific - would appreciate any help!
The main character I'm writing about was a cop who while deep undercover shot some people, was shot himself and woke up in a psychiatric hospital. This happened around 1993 in Texas. As he was undercover at the time, his police record is still in 2014 at least partially redacted, but I was wondering specifically about how someone would go about trying to access his medical records nowadays.
Essentially the main character in 2014 is suffering from a breakdown after a severe physical injury and his friend is trying to help him, and wants to get hold of his records to 1) know where to start on how to help him - his friend is uncommunicative and 2) be able to give a full background to any new healthcare team he can get him.
So my questions are:
- Would main character's medical history be recorded separately to the police file, and if so, where? What body controls these records?
- Would they be accessible to the patient alone? Who else could access them?
- Would it be likely for main character to have a physical copy of his own medical records?
Thank you!
The main character I'm writing about was a cop who while deep undercover shot some people, was shot himself and woke up in a psychiatric hospital. This happened around 1993 in Texas. As he was undercover at the time, his police record is still in 2014 at least partially redacted, but I was wondering specifically about how someone would go about trying to access his medical records nowadays.
Essentially the main character in 2014 is suffering from a breakdown after a severe physical injury and his friend is trying to help him, and wants to get hold of his records to 1) know where to start on how to help him - his friend is uncommunicative and 2) be able to give a full background to any new healthcare team he can get him.
So my questions are:
- Would main character's medical history be recorded separately to the police file, and if so, where? What body controls these records?
- Would they be accessible to the patient alone? Who else could access them?
- Would it be likely for main character to have a physical copy of his own medical records?
Thank you!