Hmm. I had an MRI of my hip done recently under private medical insurance. I was told that I could get a copy of my MRI if I wanted to get a second opinion (diagnosis is immaterial here). I've tried a number of times to get the radiology department to send me what are essentially the scans of the inside of my own body. They were initially really worried due to data protection, but I did point out that, it's essentially data about me, and that I am requesting it, so that shouldn't be an issue. However, I still haven't actually received the data from them (we're talking weeks now). They have said they would be "much happier" sending it directly to another medical professional. That's ok, to a point, but I have medical professionals in my family and close friends who are experts in the field (lucky me!) so having access to the actual images would be of personal use. I am not asserting a copyright here, simply asserting a right to have access to and privately distribute this data for my personal medical needs. Honestly, I think there could be some clarification needed. I think it's a similar issue. Until the advent of technology allowed the patient to be able to move and store that much medical data around (Dropbox etc... and think about medical records sitting on iCloud?), I don't think this would have been a problem, but I think it will become more and more and issue over time. What happens if private medical data is stolen due to the patient's negligence? Will a waiver have to be signed on release?