Abstract: User data records, such as health or financial data, are stored in a data base at one or more remote facilities, for example, at one or more hospitals or one or more central processing facilities. For each of a card-holding group of users a card is provided. The card is preferably a "smart card," which has a memory and, preferably, an onboard processor. The card is encoded with the respective user's identifying information, as well as with information that identifies at least one remote network address of at least one remote facility where the user's records are stored. The user uses the card to activate a local processor, which then automatically accesses a network, generates and applies to the network a remote record request corresponding to the activating user's identification code, along with the appropriate remote network address(es).