Access to medical records

[Laura5]

For those of you who are fed up with having to keep requesting copies of blood test results from unhelpful receptionists at your GPs practice - I thought it might be worth flagging up that you might be able to register for online access to your records. I'm not sure how widely this has rolled out yet. You will need to speak to your practice and probably take 2 forms of identification (such as a bank statement/bill with your address and a photo id) to get access.

This is the link to the website which seems to be running the system:

support.patient-access.co.u...

[leahcim]

i noticed this but sadly my doctors doesnt support it

[Laura5 in reply to leahcim]

Hopefully they will do soon - apparently it should apply to all practices by the end of the year:

digitalhealth.net/news/27661/

[helvella in reply to Laura5]

I think you'll find that access was supposed to be in place by April 2015.

Our surgery uses the Patient Access software/site - but there is no access to records at all.

[Laura5 in reply to helvella]

My surgery uses a different site for booking appointments online and repeat prescriptions and this one for access to medical records. They seem to want to make it as complicated as possible.

[Kristl in reply to Laura5]

Not in Wales!

[Harvena]

My practice supports it, it is great, can only get the bloods for the last four years since I moved here, but has details of surgical stuff from previous practice. I have a folder with all the information in and they cannot fob me off saying everything's fine when it is not now!

[Frodo in reply to Harvena]

But WHY do they do this fobbing off ????? People would not keep going to their Dr with symptoms if everything was "fine"/"normal". (Sorry, felt like a rant!)

[clivealive Forum Support]

I have online access and can make appointments with any GPs in the practice up to 4 weeks in advance, request repeat prescriptions and can view a few months worth of "medical history" e.g. prescriptions issued, 'flu - pneumonia jabs etc but no mention of blood test results or the fact I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in April this year.

Ironically I am unable to book my four weekly B12 injection with the nurse online - the one I need the most after 43 years with P.A.

I believe that everyone has the right to have their records copied - for a small fee and probably the cost of photocopies. I know that some of mine exist "on disk" because when I saw a doctor a year or so ago with an eye infection he copied off a couple of pages for me to take with me to the eye hospital for their reference and I have to say it was quite an "eye opener" at how inaccurate and limited the computerised records were, omitting bouts of pleurisy and pneumonia, a lung biopsy in Harefield Hospital and showing my PA history as only being 12 years old instead of from 1972.

[Catherine50]

Its £100 to get copy of your medical records

[helvella in reply to Catherine50]

Have a look here:

nhs.uk/chq/pages/1309.aspx?...

nhs.uk/chq/Pages/2635.aspx?...

It is much more complicated than a single £100 charge as records are often distributed over numerous organisations. The maximum single charge is £50.

[rusholme]

I registered on-line months ago. I can make appointments and repeat prescriptions but that is all. I cannot see blood result tests or anything else. I still have to go into the surgery to get a copy of any results.

[Laura5 in reply to rusholme]

I also registered online a long time ago - but our access to medical records is on a completely different system and I had to ask again to get access. It wasnt widely publicised. Worth asking to make sure it isnt offered.