Records relating to the detention and treatment of mentally disordered persons are one of the few occasions on which there are statutory provisions over what must be recorded and in what circumstances, and how corrections can be made. In the event of a failure to comply with the statutory provisions relating to detention, the patient would not be lawfully detained and could seek his/her release. Where a patient is admitted informally to a psychiatric hospital, there are no statutory provisions but the general principles discussed in an earlier article relating to record keeping should be observed.