afternoon everyone.
I hope you are all as well as expected.
I thought this might be helpful to you.
I retired nurse friend of mine informed me you can get your basic medical records from
‘Evergreen life’ all you need is your email and a password. I tried it and it’s true. It’s a bit basic but it takes me back to the 1970’s and shows I was first diagnosed with pernicious anaemia.
I hope this is of some use. Best wishes x
That is useful to know .Thanks.
Best wishes. I really hope you get sorted soon x
Thanks Hedgehogs15,
Helpful indeed.
Hope it helps x
I had a quick peruse of the App.
I have years of diaries, photos, videos (my own health). I saw a private neurologist who asked how I was born and fed as a baby.
He said (to himself), I should have guessed coming from a midwife.
I had told him, Spontaneous Vaginal Delivery (SVD) and Artificially Fed (AF).
Apart from Intensive Care Units, it is the only area a person will receive 1 to 1 care. We document practically every minute of what is happening. In a room, we may have so much going on, with a few different types of drips, monitoring, antibiotics, pain relief. Looking after birthing partner.
We will sign and print our name approximately 25 times on an A4 sheet of paper. I bought a stamp for my name, for ease.
Most of my NHS notes are in my home.
Apps are apps, they have bugs and viruses. My first degree was Computer Programming. Yes, I created interfaces amongst other stuff.
The NHS have a budget, they go out to tender to buy the cheapest goods and services. On the wards, we would often say, The only things that work is us.
Equipment and technology were constantly breaking down. They made the system so awkward that I could not even write a blood request form.
I had to wait until a computer was free, put in my ID card, with a chip and pin. Find the correct screen, enter patient ID, click on the type of blood tests I wanted, then choose where I wanted to send them i.e. the right printer. Then click out of the person’s information (for confidentiality). Then go to the label machine only to find it had jammed. So, sort out the jam and do it all again.
If this was urgent an emergency, you can imagine what a complete waste of precious time. The technology does not support clinicians. It is definitely not working SMARTER. It takes about a minute to fill in a blood form by hand, the convoluted, you put your left hand in, your left hand out, Hokey Cokey, jiggery pokery takes about 5 minutes.
There was 2 computers on a ward for 16 to 20 patients.
Poor doctors have to have a degree in I.T. to understand the crazy technology that someone in a big office miles away decided to purchase. There are far too many different databases and apps for clinicians to click in and out of. No wonder they do not understand P.A./AMAG/B12D, they are too busy trying to be calm that their computer system has crashed for the umpteenth time that day.
They still have to carry on working. They’ll have no patient history, or know what medication a person is on or anything. A patient may feel that the same doctor they have seen for years is not very good at their job. (What you forgot I was diagnosed with P.A. in 1989 ? )
A GP will see 50 to 60 patients in a day, they may remember people’s faces but not any other details. A patient may need analgesia but the poor old doctor cannot print out a prescription because of technology. Whose fault is that ? 😉
Who are Evergreen Life and why are they holding our medical records?
My thoughts too, does that mean anyone can get hold of our records 🤷🏽♀️
Yes they are. X
Thank you for sharing. I’m assuming you didn’t agree to share your data with this company so I’m concerned about how they got/are getting personal medical data, who else has access to it, how robust is their security and what they’re doing with it.
It’s private to you and they don’t share as far as I can see. They have good reviews x
Your medical records are freely available to you, but might be in several different places. Evergreen are an aggregator, which means that when you give them permission to collect all those records - permission I’m sure they need from you, request from you, and can’t access your records without - they make them available to you in handy form.
Your other questions stand.
That’s very technical for me but it sounds about right. I’m an old lady with basic technical knowledge xx thank you
Hedgehogs15,
An aggregator is basically a collector. So, imagine a farm hand (the collector) going to collect breakfast for Mrs Farmer to cook.
The farm hand will go the chicken coop. They will collect 2 eggs from Beauty’s nest, 3 egg from Layla’s nest and 4 eggs from Priscilla’s nest.
Then they’ll go the cow shed, they’ll get a pail of milk. Ermentrude produce 2 pints, Bella produced 3.5 pints and Gloria produced a whopping 5 pints.
The farm hand goes and collects some honey from the bees. They meet another farm hand and receive a loaf of bread and some butter.
The farm hand, Terence, goes back to Mrs Farmer. She can now rustle up breakfast.
So, in technology, that is all the collector has done, go to individuals, asked for your data. They get it, then move on to the next one, get data. You have consented, so you are Mrs Farmer. What you do with your data is another thing.
Please note that none of the animals were hurt in the making of this analogy and they are female. We do have our uses. 😜
Thank you for this. You are very knowledgeable xx
Erm, nope, I wing most things. My spelling can be atrocious, I forget words and names because of ‘brain fog’. And sometimes I have to count on my fingers and toes.
I am also grateful to my arms because they are by my sides and my legs and back for supporting me. 🤣😘
I wish you well. And thank you for looking after us all. X
I'm sorry but this had me in absolute stitches!
SweetPotatoDolphin, I love a good jackanory (story - Cockney rhyming slang).
A firm favourite is the Brothers Grimm, Chicken Licken. They misperceived an acorn falling on their head as the sky was falling in. They told lots of others, then hurried off to tell the King. Then Foxy Loxy took advantage of their situation, directed them to his lair. Needless to say, the motley crew made a tasty feast for 🦊 and their family. All because of misperception. 🤣🙃
I used to LOVE Chicken Licken when I was little, my mum still moans about it to this day, as apparently it was the longest story in my bedtime reading book and I'd always want to hear it 😂
I hope Hedgehogs15 remembers it too. The allegory is there too. The misperception of Pernicious Anaemia/B12 deficiency. Me, I am as cunning as a 🦊. 🤣
Me too x
What happens on the farm if I want bacon and a sausage with my eggs? 🫤
🤣😂 Well, Napoleon the 🐷 comes in handy.
(From George Orwell - Animal Farm. Napoleon is a bit of a meanie with his Secret Police dogs). 😉
how do you get the password to access your own records?
You go to evergreen life and it says join. You put your email in and create your own password to join. I’ve been with them 2 years and never had any problems.
But surely anyone could use my email address and set up a password to see my medical records?
No they can’t. It’s like when you use your own password for Amazon or your bank. It’s private to you. X
well there we are another company holding our data
It’s true but I have found this helpful. It proved I had on file I have pernicious anaemia from the ‘70’s
That description does not say the company holds the data.
As I read it, they provide an alternative to the NHS England app for accessing the data. In some cases, it might allow access to more information than the NHS England app, or differently presented, etc.
There is a question over the route the data takes - do they "see" the stream of data as it goes from GP server to your device? Not at all clear. Even if they do, can they save it/store it/doing anything with it?
Greater clarity is to be demanded - of the company!
I can see my go records going back to 1970’s it even shows I had my B12 injection a couple of weeks agon.
I feel confident enough to continue with the, I have been with them 2 years now.
No one else can see your records. It’s like anything else your own password is private to you to log in with x
Forgive me if this is a stupid question.....would my GP know that I had joined Evergreen Life to access my records? At present, my access to online records is blocked by them because I dared to point out inaccuracies and downright lies on my records. My punishment was to have my access removed. I would LOVE to see my records going back to the 70s.
I really don’t know the answer to that but I have a lovely relationship now with Ann the nurse who gives me my B12 injection and she has never mentioned this to me.
You could ask ‘Evergreen ‘ before you joined. They have a helpline for questions. X
Thankyou. I'll ask them. x
You can email them with questions before you join to put your mind at rest. Good luck x
Evergreen Life's Q&A are pretty comprehensive and I have found the answer.
Yes, my GP would know and could still actually prevent my access. "The practice will need to screen your record to check that it is safe for you see it. This may take a few days. It is possible that they will refuse if they feel that full access would pose a risk to you. "
"Ay, there's the rub!" (Hamlet.)
Oh well, I could still try I suppose. Just don't want to give my surgery the satisfaction of denying me yet again.
Oh dear. I really hope you find the help you need. I can only speak as I find and I’ve never had a problem. It really helped me prove I had pernicious anaemia because a young doctor at my previous surgery told me I hadn’t and stopped my B12. It was on my evergreen record ‘pernicious anaemia diagnosed 1976.’
All the very best grumpyold x
Aww, thanks. Glad it works for you.
Take care, xxx
You too x
I find the comment ‘Evergreen Life lets people own their health information’ outrageous. We DO own our health information and shouldn’t have to deal with 3rd parties to access it. This is an ongoing process that we are being lulled into accepting as normal.
I think we should have the right to access our records at the point they are created, without the intervention of any other agency.
It is outrageous but what do we do when we have gps who would let ud die rather than inject us with B12. I am happy to see my records and it’s also useful when you can see how unhelpful so gps are like at my last practice and use this to put things right. Anyway it works for me. X
I agree with you, I am/would be happy to see my records - I just object to the involvement of a third party.
And if I found discrepancies I would like to discuss these with my gp directly. (!)
I agree. We shouldn’t have to resort to this if some gps took our B12 symptoms seriously. X
that is brilliant. can one get in with a PC? I don't have a mobile
Yes you can. Before you join you can email them and ask questions to put your mind at rest. I wish you well. X
thank you, will try to phone them at 09:30 probs not open sooner
Good luck x
and this is where it all comes to a sudden stop. prnt.sc/cTJ-QcMbWi3T
I would ring their helpline and see what they can do for you xx
I did but it doesn't work, left a message and also an e-mail, buit it looks like until my GP sends in the info that they have seen proof of who I am and photo ID, which I did with them over a week ago, I get nowhere....
That’s so unfair for you x
As I always have an eye for all members of my home forum, I asked Evergeen Life if it works outside England:
Currently Evergreen Life accounts cannot "link" to GP practices outside of England.
However, your GP practice may be using the AskMyGP services that are available via the Evergreen Life app.
You can access AskMyGP directly via your GP practice's website, or using the Evergreen Life app once connected, let me know if I can advise further.
that could be really helpful for people like ‘totally frustrated’ thank you x
Was looking forward to this, but it told me it didn’t recognise my doctors practice ☹️
Try their helpline number or email. Hope you get through x
Well my other half accessed their records recently and found they had been muddled with their parent's, who has the same first name and surname.
oh dear that’s not good x
You can also do this on the NHS app, you can also order repeat prescriptions, message your gp, book appointments and upcoming appointments
it seems to depend on the surgery whether you can access ‘Evergreen Life’ our not.
I saw the nurse last night because I have a urine infection and it’s already showing on my file this morning. Plus the treatment I was given.
I’m thinking it doesn’t work because my gp is in Wales ☹️
what a shame but it does say covers uk. Perhaps try their helpline x
For all too many, companies and government and public bodies and others, UK = England and England = UK.
However, it is often difficult to be sure whether the false equivalence is due to ignorance, not wanting to be bothered to check out and mention the multiple nations, or if there is some sort of deliberate intent behind it. All are probably true - but deciding which in any individual case isn't always obvious.
we have to be so wary of everything nowadays
Attitude of GPs to self medication? 
British medical journal publication 
Feeling Lost. Why is there no medical help?
Unsympathetic Medical Profession 
Suitable medication for diabetes
