A medical record, health record, or medical chart is a systematic documentation of a patient's medical history and care http://www.mckinley.uiuc.edu/clinics/medrec/medrec-faq.htmlhttp://www.physicianspractice.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=qa.details&QA_ID=342. The term 'Medical record' is used both for the physical folder for each individual patient and for the body of information which comprises the total of each patient's health history. Medical records are intensely personal documents and there are many ethical and legal issues surrounding them such as the degree of third-party access and appropriate storage and disposal. Although medical records are traditionally compiled and stored by health care providers, personal health records maintained by individual patients have become more popular in recent years.