PATIENT RECORD ACCESS

Online Medical Record 

All patients can register for online services via Systmonline, NHS app or any third party approved apps. You have the facility to order repeat prescriptions, view/manage appointments and access medical record. As your GP practice, we have been asked to provide you with access to your full prospective medical record online via the NHS app (and NHS website) if you have a suitable NHS login.

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. There is likely to be sensitive and personal information within your medical record.

We are supportive of providing you with access to your record, but we wish to do this safely and make you aware that this is happening so that you can opt out, if you so wish. We will send you information to understand what it is that you will see, and the risks which may be involved in having such confidential data either on your smartphone with the NHS app installed, or online, if other people might have access to that information through your devices. If you are in a difficult or pressured relationship for example, you may prefer your records to remain accessible only to those treating you, with them not appearing on your smartphone or online. The Government has been clear that if a patient does not wish to have access, then we do not have to provide it. 

Everyone will have access to their medication history and allergies, will be able to order their repeat prescriptions, and be able to view and cancel appointments. It’s also possible to have access to your ‘full’ prospective medical record, where you will be able to see everything, including the notes which have been written by doctors, nurses and others involved in your care, at the GP surgery, and elsewhere. It’s important to remember that these documents 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, 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 removing 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.

Requesting online record access – what do I need to do?

The easiest way to get access is to create an NHS login through the NHS app or NHS website. You’ll have to set up an account using a unique e-mail address and then ‘authenticate’ yourself to the NHS system to prove you are who you say you are. This will involve confirming your name, date of birth and contact details. The NHS login has several levels of authentication and to gain access to your records you’ll need the highest level of authentication. This generally involves you recording a short video of yourself to prove you are a real person as well as uploading a copy of a suitable identification document. We ask you to try to sign up to the NHS app or NHS website yourself, If you are struggling you may wish to ask a family member or friend you trust to help you.

Once you have suitably authenticated yourself to the NHS App/NHS website and created your NHS login, Honiton surgery will contact you to offer you additional record access. We will send you an online questionnaire, giving you the option to ‘opt in’ or ‘opt out’. This questionnaire will ask you to confirm you agree and understand the information we are providing you with about your online medical records access. You should be mindful of the risks associated with access and the importance of not sharing passwords or having them stored in your smartphone if you think other people might want to see them without your permission. If you have any concerns, you should explain these to the practice team who can guide you. Your questionnaire response will be passed to our clinical team to review. It may be that we wish to contact you to discuss your record access further if there are any concerns raised, so that access can be given safely. 

Extended Access To Your Medical Record Online 

Our current practice policy is the default for online access is to give access to your full medical record upon date of request or date of registration at the Practice. Upon request we are able to extend this access to view from 01.04.2019. If you would like to extend your access then please complete an online consult : Contact us

We cannot give further medical record online, if you require your medical record history from before 1.4.2019 this will have to be done via a SARS see below. 

Subject Access Request Subject (SARS)

You will appreciate that health data relating to any individual is highly confidential and the Practice must ensure that it releases such data only to the person to whom it relates, or to a person authorised to act on his or her behalf. If you require to see any health data, please complete this request form as fully and accurately as possible to enable us to locate the exact information you require.

The General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) gives you the statutory right of access to any information, manual (paper) or computerised.  You may wish to authorise someone else to make your application on your behalf and if you have parental responsibilities, you may make an application to see your child’s notes, if they are under the age of twelve years.

You do not have to give a reason for applying for access to your General Practice records. If you do not need access to your entire records, it would be helpful if you would inform us of the periods and area of your health records that you require, along with details which you feel may have relevance (e.g. clinic type, location, dates).

A SARs can be refused if the request is manifestly unfounded or excessive.

Proof of identity will be requested prior to the SAR being undertaken.

Timescale

The Practice will deal with your request as quickly as possible. If you request copies of all or part of your medical record, these will be ready within the allocated timescales specified by the regulations (which is currently 28 days from receipt of your accurately completed form and confirmation of consent), and we will contact you when complete. Under certain circumstances, this period can be extended to 3 months but we will keep you informed of the progress of your request during this extended period.

Fees

We will not make a charge for the first request for access to your medical records. We may, however, charge for subsequent requests or if we deem that the volume of information requested is excessive. You have the right to simply view your records (i.e. not receive a copy in a permanent form); information on how to arrange this is detailed below.

How to Request a SARs

Please email d-icb.honitonsurgery-patientservices@nhs.net with: 

• Your name, DOB, full address and contact details. 
• If you are requesting your own medical records,
• Or requesting records of another adult or child. You must have written permission from the data subject or have legal/parental responsibility for this request. 
• Indicate what data/records you are requesting (for example your records between specific dates or relating to a specific condition) 
• Please provide as much detail as possible and be as specific as possible as this will speed up the request process. Include time periods and specific episodes of illness or treatment wherever possible.