# What should an audit trail in a mental health record system capture?

URL: https://tymirahealth.com/resources/faqs/what-should-an-audit-trail-in-a-mental-health-record-system-capture
For: Digital health teams | Digital health and technology | Reviewed by Independent clinical reviewer, Registered mental health clinician, Kenya | Last reviewed 8 November 2026

**Answer:** Record who accessed or changed what, when, from where and why: user identity and role, patient record, action (view, create, edit, print, export, share), timestamp, device or IP address, and any break-glass reason. Log failed logins and permission changes too. Make logs tamper-evident, retain them in line with your retention schedule, and review them routinely for unusual access. Kenya's Digital Health Regulations require audit trails and monitoring of login attempts. The FHIR AuditEvent resource offers a standard structure for exchanging audit records.

Sources: Kenya Law: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/act/ln/2025/76/eng@2025-04-11 - HL7 International: https://hl7.org/fhir/R4/auditevent.html - ISO: https://www.iso.org/standard/84647.html

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