We need to go from ID numbers to results without the intermediary billing numbers. Get consent, or get exemption. Obtain data de-identified or with adequate protection. The Web could be used for patient communication support. We could design a personal portal for patients that would include the option of seeing UCLA research studies related to their diagnoses.
Informed consent does include the benefits of research.
The research documentation is for the benefit of society and the investigator. It is true, when treating subjects the information is better organized than the medical record. It contains more useful data than the medical record. There are some questions that would be inappropriate. Depending on how the database is available, prospective studies would be possible.