Online Access to medical records
The law states that NHS Organisations must, when requested by an individual, give that person access to their personal health information.
NHS England and NHS Digital are working towards giving patients online access to read new entries in their health record through SystmOne online.
Key Points:
– No historical information is currently unavailable to patients. A programme is currently in the pipeline for this services.
– Patients will only see information from their current registered practice, previous practice information will not be available.
– Under 16 year olds will not be able to see their record unless the GP practice give access,
– A practice can decline patients access to their own records in particular circumstances.
Requests for online access should be made by completing this form. You will need to bring the completed form in person to the surgery plus photo ID such as driving licence, passport.
Proxy adult access can be given to an individual on behalf of a patient. Access can only be granted y if we have explicit informed consent from the patient, (including the level of access to be given), the person is acting under a power of attorney or as a court appointed deputy.
Proxy child access can be given to a parent or guardian up to the age of 12yrs. The person should be named on the birth certificate or have appropriate documentation to show guardianship.
From birth to age 12 proxy access will be given to the patients parent/guardian. This proxy access will automatically be removed when the child reaches the age of 12. Access can be granted to a child if they are deemed to be competent or to the parent/guardian if its the patients best interest, and will need to be reviewed on a case by case basis.
If the practice suspects coercive behaviour access will be refused and documented in the medical notes. The clinical lead will liaise with Child Safeguarding teams if appropriate
Subject Access Requests (SARs)
On 25th May 2018 the current UK Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA 1998) will be fully replaced by the UK GDPR (2016/679). These new regulations give living individuals the right to request access to personal data held on them by the Practice. This is known as a Subject Access Request (SAR).
Requests can be made via the Subject Access Request Form or in writing via letter or email.
The statutory time-frame is one month from receipt of the request. The period can be extended by a further two months if the request is determined complex or numerous. The Practice can decide to refuse a request where the request is manifestly unfounded or excessive, in particular if it is repetitive. The requester will be informed of the reason why within one month of receipt of the request.