I've got a really quick questions. It seems to reason that healers would keep records of the injuries received and treated on any given day, and the patients to whom these injuries/illnesses occurred. So my question is (two really), would these records be kept in the Record room with the other Weyr details, or would these records be kept in the Infirmary for easy access to the healers? And would any healer (whether it be apprentice or journeyman) be able to access these records? I wasn't sure if Pern had a privacy healer-patient code. ^_^
In River Bluff, at least, I've always written that the records are kept in the infirmary, but they're only accessible to journeymen and masters. Apprentices can't treat patients without supervision in any case, so they'll never have need to check on records by themselves. I assume that most other Weyrs run in a generally similar fashion.
I would assume that it would be the same at DCW also. However, I'm sure there are records archieved somewhere in the Record Room from long before in a more restricted area (which I would assume all Record Rooms would have for more sensitive and precious documents).
Yes, no one will be keeping records from someone who has been dead for 50 turns around the infirmary. But they also won't just be lying about where people can get to them. I doubt anyone will be suing over invasion of privacy, but healers are going to be careful about who they tell what.
At River Bluff, at least, if Abrei caught any healer blabbing about a patient or leaving records out where anyone could get at them, she'd be making them regret it for months. :D
Ooohh, I see. That makes perfect sense! Thanks!