A portable heath care records system employs a server on which the health care records of participating patients are stored. The patients may access the system using cards or CD-ROMS that are inserted into the patient's computer. The patients can review their own records via Internet and can edit them. The patient may also access via cell phone or handheld device. The patient record is protected by patient ID and password. Treating physicians have access to each patient's records for review and update. A two-way firewall permits patients to review their own health records only, but permits the physician to review both the physician files and the patient files. The physician can override the firewall to send patient information from his or her record. A read-only emergency screen with medical data about the patient may be accessed for emergency use. Records of many patients and of many clinics are maintained on a common server, so that the patient record can be accessed globally.