Online patient access to records
Patients can access their medical records online. You will be able to view your repeat prescriptions, allergies, laboratory test results, documents, immunisations, problems and consultations. You can choose whether you would like full access to your medical records, or certain aspects you would like to have access to.
If you would like to sign up to view your medical records on-line you will need to register to do this at the surgery in order to be allocated your login and password.
- You will be required to bring in a physical form of photographic ID into the practice
- Complete the registration form
If you care for someone who needs help ordering their repeat prescriptions online or would like to access your child medical records online, you can register as a proxy user. You will need to have access to your own account, but the proxy user can be added onto your profile. Both parties, (the proxy and the representative) will need to come into practice to show photographic ID and sign the form.
Summary Care Record
This is the National database, the record will be available to authorised healthcare staff providing your care anywhere in England, but they will ask your permission before they look at it.
Children under 16 will automatically have a summary care record unless a parent or guardian chooses to opt them out.
Cheshire Health Record
The Cheshire Health Record is a system designed locally to enable authorised doctors, nurses and other trained healthcare professionals to access a summary of your GP patient record. This could happen in hospital or unplanned care settings such as A&E or Out of Hours Centres. The system will provide essential medical information which can be used to make informed clinical decisions about the treatment provided to you.
Opting out of the schemes
You can choose not to have a Summary Care Record or Cheshire Health record by completing an “opt out” form. Please ask at reception. We will then enter a code into your records so your data cannot be shared. Your records will stay as they are now with information being shared by letter, email, fax or phone
If you change your mind you can opt back in at any time.
For further information:
Please contact the Customer Solution Centre (formally PALS) 01244 650368 or the practice.
How we use your medical records – Important information for patients
- This practice handles medical records in-line with laws on data protection and confidentiality.
- We share medical records with those who are involved in providing you with care and treatment
- In some circumstances we will also share medical records for medical research, for example to find out more about why people get ill.
- We share information when the law requires us to do so, for example, to prevent infectious diseases from spreading or to check the care being provided to you is safe.
- You have the right to be given a copy of your medical record.
- You have the right to object to your medical records being shared with those who provide you with care.
- You have the right to object to your information being used for medical research and to plan health services.
- You have the right to have any mistakes corrected and to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office. Please see the practice privacy notice on the website or speak to a member of staff for more information about your rights.
- For more information ask at reception for a leaflet
The NHS is dedicated to protecting your information
Everyone working for the NHS has a responsibility and a legal duty to protect your personal information, so that it is not disclosed to unauthorised bodies or people.
Your information is recorded on paper and in computer files. It is treated with strict confidential care.
We sometimes need to move electronic information about you from one computer system to another, by extracting the data and modifying it ready to be passed on. Tests are made regularly on the data to check that it is getting transferred correctly.
Why we ask for personal information
In order to provide the best possible healthcare, we need to maintain proper records of your health and make sure that it is available to the relevant people whenever and wherever possible.
The doctor needs to make notes about any diagnosis, test result; treatments including drug prescriptions and other information that you provide that are relevant to the treatment of your condition.
Nurses and other health professionals will have access to these records, and will add their own notes, as part of your overall healthcare.
Secretaries, receptionists and other clerical staff need access to some of your records in order to complete administrative tasks such as booking appointments and for communicating with you and health care professionals.
The practice complies with General Data Protection Regulations and Access to medical records legislation. Identifiable information about you will be shared with others in the following circumstances:
- To provide further medical treatment for you e.g. District Nurse & hospital services
- When we have a duty to others e.g. in child protection cases / Vulnerable adults
- To help you get other services e.g. Social work department. This requires your consent
- When you request us to complete insurance or solicitors forms – this requires your consent
- Anonymous patient information will also be used at local and national level to help the Primary Care Trust and Government plan services e.g. for diabetic care. If you do not wish anonymous information about you to be used in such a way, please let us know.
We may use some of the information for other reasons
Anyone who receives information from us about you is under a legal duty to keep it confidential.
You may be receiving care from another organisation as well as the NHS. To enable us to work together for your benefit, we may share information.
We may use some of the information for other reasons, such as to help us protect the health of the public generally, e.g. Notification of infectious diseases. Reports will extract the information from your records. This in turn enables the NHS to run efficiently by making plans for the future, using the figures passed to them, and looking at ways the numbers can be reduced. Training the staff, enabling them to carry out a review so that the care they provide is always of the highest standard.
Information may also be needed to carry out medical and other health research for the benefit of everyone. Research projects are always approved by a local research ethics committee. If anything to do with research involved you personally, you will be contacted to see if you are willing to take part.
Improvements and advances in medical care and treatment can only occur by monitoring current practices. Sometimes managers and planners as well as researchers may need to examine records to assist in this process. All data that could identify you personally is removed.
In addition, the NHS maintains a number of registers for diseases such as cancer, to allow the NHS to plan the services it provides. These registers are used to monitor the effectiveness of treatments, therefore over time improve the outcomes for specific conditions. Tests and the transferring of your data is carried out under secure and carefully controlled conditions. The law controls the sharing of very sensitive personal types of data. We continually review ways in which confidentiality improvements can be made. It is important for us to know and understand the views of our patients and users of our service including carers. If you provide consent your friends, relatives and carers can be kept up to date with the progress of your treatment.
Who to contact for further information
If at any time you would like to know more about how we use your information and how it is maintained, handled and looked after, you can speak to the person in charge of your care or to the Caldicott Guardian here in the Practice.
Here at York Road your Caldicott Guardian is Dr C J MacDonald & Mrs Bedford or visit the NHS web site on www.NHS.uk
Freedom of Information Act
All health bodies are covered by the Freedom of Information Act which gives all interested parties a general right of access to all types of recorded information.
If you have any questions please ask for an information leaflet at reception.