Along with every GP Surgery in the country we have been asked by NHS England to provide you with access to your full medical record from 1st November 2023 via the NHS app (and NHS website) if you have a suitable NHS login. This means that it will be possible to view all entries and data in your medical record entered from 1st November 2023 onwards. This will apply to accounts belonging to people over the age of 16 and will not apply to proxy access.
Many of our patients already have some level of digital access to their records and use at least one GP online service to request prescriptions, book appointments or access immunisation records. For these patients from the 1st of November onwards this will be automatically updated so that you can see ALL data entered onto your record from this point onwards, unless you opt out. For those patients who do not currently use any GP online services nothing will change, though you can at any time choose to start using online services and gain access to your full records from this point if you so wish.
Your GP medical record contains consultation notes based on conversations between you, your GP and their team: medicines prescribed to you; all test results including hospital investigations; allergies; vaccines; and your medical conditions along with documents that may have been sent from local hospitals, clinics or other agencies, e.g., the police and social services. There is likely to be sensitive and personal information within your medical record.
Whilst we are providing the option of access to your record, we wish to do this safely and make you aware that this is happening so that you can opt out, if you so wish. You may wish to speak with us first to understand the risks which may be involved in having such confidential data either on your smartphone via the NHS app, or online if other people might have access to your devices. We also wish to make you aware that as a practice we have no control over the IT infrastructure that hosts your data.
It is important to remember that your medical records may, at times, contain information that could be upsetting, especially if they contain news of a serious condition. It can also be a cause for worry seeing results online when it isn’t clear what the results might mean, and no one is available to ask, as can be the case during the evening or at weekends, for example.
Sometimes people with a mental health condition might prefer not to see documents that remind them of difficult times in their life. Letters from mental health teams sometimes go into detail about past events, and great care would be needed in deciding whether you would want to see these letters. It is possible for individual items to be hidden at your request and your GP would be happy to talk about any concerns you may have.
Great care is also needed in case private details might cause harm at home, for instance should people in a difficult or pressured relationship be forced to show their medical record to an abusive partner. Anyone in such a position should make this clear to us at the practice, so we can take steps to keep you safe. This might mean declining access through the NHS app for the time being, or through a careful process where we hide sensitive things. We would talk this through with you.
There are several points that it is essential to consider before allowing access to your records.
It is your responsibility to ensure you keep your information safe and secure. Sharing information is at your own risk.
You may choose to share medical information with others including friends, family, or carers. This is your choice but also your responsibility to ensure this information remains safe and secure. You share this information at your own risk.
You may see abnormal results or bad news.
If your GP has given you access to test results or letters, you may see something you find upsetting or do not understand. This may occur before you have spoken to your doctor or while the surgery is closed, and you cannot contact them. This may also include something you have forgotten in your record.
Medical records are not always written with a patient in mind.
Your medical records are designed to be used by clinical professionals to ensure that you receive the best possible care. Some of the information in your medical record may be highly technical, written by specialists and not easily understood. You may need to contact us and wait for a response should there be something in your records that you don’t understand.
It may be possible that you see something in your record which you are concerned about, but a clinical professional has not placed the same amount of importance/urgency on it. It is important in these circumstances that you work with the practice to discuss the issue rather than access emergency services including 111, 999 or A&E who do not have access to your full notes and may not be able to help.
Your records are about you – but errors happen. You will need to immediately report to the surgery any information that does not belong in your record.
We will never deliberately add third party information to your medical records, however human error is a risk. If you spot something in your record that is not about you or you notice other records, please log out of the system immediately and contact the practice as soon as possible.
Can you confirm that access to your records is your wish alone?
If you are being pressurised to gain access or share details of your record with others, we would recommend not gaining access at this time or discussing with the surgery how we can best help keep your information safe.
If after reading the above, you decide that you do not think online access to your full medical record is the right thing for you right now please reply to us via text or via our website with DECLINE ACCESS by Friday 27th October. If you choose to decline access to your full records and thereby opt out of the new changes, you will still retain the level of access that you currently have, this will not change.
Please note that for added safety we are following guidance and temporarily blocking this new level of access for some patients. This is based on codes/ conditions that sometimes suggest someone may be at higher risk; we therefore need to be more cautious about access in these circumstances. The partners will be reviewing a list of these patients individually over the months ahead and contacting people if necessary to discuss online access, and in most cases full access will then be offered. If you find that on 1st November, you do not immediately have full access to your records it may be for this reason. We ask patients for their patience as we complete this process as an additional safety check.