Abstract: Method and apparatus for locating and exchanging clinical information. A method and system are provided for locating and accessing information across a network such as the Internet in a secure manner. With distributed health care records, the system makes it possible to access all parts of a patient's clinical health record even though individual records are dispersed across diverse organizations and providers. One or more servers contain a correlation system that accesses databases of universal person objects, and information on what records are available and where they are located. The universal person objects and location information is added to as the server receives metadata from providers. Providers who need to find a clinical record can access the server over the network. Once a record has been located, a provider can access a record in a standard format, and in a secure manner.