'reasonable' fees for accessing medical records held by gp... guide?

[Nicola-Jane]

There was a thread on here a month or so ago which included a link to the guide of what is 'reasonable' when charging patients for a copy of their medical records. Does anyone remember it/know where it is please?

[RedApple Administrator]

See if this helps

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/NHS_In...

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[Hidden in reply to RedApple]

Thanks for that timely link. Can I refuse to pay as a matter of principle I wonder?

Is there any way of finding out when medical records are 'updated', in other words being altered by the GP?

[Hidden]

I work with medical records, and it is hard to alter computerised records without the records showing that they have been edited. In other words every time someone is in the record there is a history and it is logged. The reason it costs is because someone has to be on hand to advise on the various terms in the records that are non sensical ie elaborate medical terms that would not make sense to a lay person.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Hidden]

You are absolutely right that the computer system will somehow record pretty much everything - and be very hard for a doctor to change in that sense.

However, we have seen people being charged (and not only a few pence) simply for a printout of the results they have just seen with their doctor! That is, a very simple hard copy without any assistance being asked for or given.

Rod

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for your reply. I am wanting to look at my records that were held with my former GP surgery so shall be writing to my current surgery asking them.

Is it easy for a numpty like me to know when my records have been accessed?

Is there likely to be written records as well as computerised ones? Will my former surgery's records differ from my current surgery?

Do you think it would be OK to sit in the surgery and read through them? I'm too mean to pay for a print-out when it's them that have left me ill.

Than you for your help.

[NBob in reply to Hidden]

Your records can be accessed without you knowing because you are not at the time when records are being accessed.

Most peoples records will be a mix of paper records and electronic records. You paper records are moved around from surgery to surgery with you.

You can look at your records for free and make notes in your own notebook. Simply call the surgery and let them know. They may need some time to clear a desk, find the paper records and get a monitor ready, but they cannot say you cant look at your records or take notes.

On another note, the records belong to the Secretary of State for Health. Even though they are about you, they are made by a NHS employee on NHS business with NHS equipment. its just like bank records; although the banks records are about you, they belong to the bank. The Data Protection Act is there to let us ensure that information about us held by public bodies is correct. It doesn't give us ownership of those records.

[Hidden in reply to NBob]

Thank you for this information. As I am complaining to my former surgery which is some 80 miles away, it's not feasible to go there. The problem is that if they are sent to me then I will have to pay. They left me ill and untreated, I'm unemployed and 'existing' on JSA so the last thing I want to do is pay those muppets any money.

I'll certainly ask my current surgery to view my records.

The system is obviously designed so that people lose the will to live!!

[NBob]

I work in Public Health and deal with FoI And DPA requests so I have to know about what we can release and what we can charge.

there are 2 key phrases: maximum and reasonable.

Regulation 6(2) of The Data Protection (Subject Access) (Fees and Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 2000 set a MAXIMUM fee of £50 for supplying the data subject with a copy of information in permanent form.

Regulation 4(3) of The Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate

Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004 states

In a case in which this regulation has effect, a public authority may, for the purpose of its

estimate, take account only of the costs it reasonably expects to incur in relation to the request in–

(a) determining whether it holds the information,

(b) locating the information, or a document which may contain the information,

(c) retrieving the information, or a document which may contain the information, and

(d) extracting the information from a document containing it.

Guidance from the Information Commissioner's Office states that reviewing, redacting and considering whether information held is exempt cannot be considered as part of the Fees Regulations calculations.

Regulation 4 (4) of The Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate

Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004 states:

To the extent to which any of the costs which a public authority takes into account are

attributable to the time which persons undertaking any of the activities mentioned in paragraph (3) on behalf of the authority are expected to spend on those activities, those costs are to be estimated at a rate of £25 per person per hour. (or 41 pence per minute)

So a reasonable cost for printing out a copy of your tests results, assuming that the test results are on computer, should be around £2.10. I calculate this as taking 5 minutes to bring the results up on computer, press print and go to the printer plus a few pence for paper, toner and electricity. there may be additional costs for a stamp and envelope if you want your results posted to you.

I don't think you can just not pay, because the charges are lawful. What is NOT lawful is charging a set fee of say £50. Also the fee is not compulsory and most surgeries give copies of results out for free.

if you think the fee is not reasonable, report your GP to the ICO.

[editfmrt in reply to NBob]

Thanks for this. The area I get confused with is around the statements pertaining to whether the records are current and if they have been updated within the last so many days (I forget how many) the NHS, ICO and Data Protection websites say.

Each one provide links to further infornstion just to confuse the issues more. The trouble with all of this is the answers are always littered with reams of legal/regulatory jargon and then it makes it difficult to easily dispute the rubbish GPs (and even hospital information departments) throw at you. I wish there was a simple FAQ list giving answers to scenarios that we are presented with when trying to get access to OUR medical records.

[anne1483 in reply to NBob]

NBob, I want to access test results which are apparently held on paper. 1997 on wards. Is that a big nuisance for staff? Anne

[editfmrt]

Further to my posting above: I will be happy to compile a list of FAQs and send them to the ICO for answers if people want to post their questions on here. I just don't have time to compose them myself. For starters:

Q: My GP has told me I have to pay £50 to have electronic printouts of my blood test results because I wanted copies going back five years. Is this correct?

Q: I have asked my GP for a copy of the lab tests I had taken lasy week and the receptionist has said I have to pay £10 for every page of the results - can they really charge me £10 for each page?

Q: My GP has told me that my medical records are the property of the surgery and I don't have the right to see them. Is this correct?

Q. I have blood tests taken every three months at my doctors surgery and have requested a printout of the results in advance of my GP follow up appointment. The surgery has refused saying they are too busy and I wouldn't understand them anyway. Can they refuse to comply with my request.

Q. I have blood tests taken every three months at my doctors surgery and have requested a printout of the results in advance of my GP follow up appointment. The surgery has told me I have to make an FOI request each time and they have 40 days to comply - is this correct?

Q. My GP surgery has given me a printout of my recent blood test results and I know the information is incomplete because some tests taken have not been included and they have not given me the lab reference ranges used for the tests. The results are useless without these ranges which are used by the GPs but they are saying they don't have them. What can I do to make sure I have been given the full information i know is held on my records?

I can think of ots more... Does anyone want to contribute their own scenarios?

[Nicola-Jane in reply to editfmrt]

There was a link of here a few weeks back, I am trying to find it and will post it to you when I do. It says that the most you can be charged is £50, anything other than that has to be 'reasonable'. I can't see how one printout is reasonably charged at £10! When I ask my GP he will ask if it's for medical purposes and I say yes (to speak to Dr. P. and my nutritionist) and it is free, but I had the same results sent to me free by my endo's consultant in the post, didn't mention a charge or ask who it was for!

[Hidden in reply to Nicola-Jane]

Link is to TUK - as seen above by RedApple.

x

[twinks]

I was charged £50 for my records last yr, and its only now wading through them that none of my blood results are there, on asking the receptionist shes said oh i should have asked for them at the time.................. Now, I asked for my FULL records at the time full is full to me.

Im now trying to keep them up to date and if i have an appointment consultant ive asked to be copied in to any letters results so i can keep my file up to date.

Im still waiting, so probably yet another phone call to consultants sec again.

When i pluck up the courage I will ask for my copies of recent gp appointments and also state i never had any blood results when i paid the first £50........... see what they come up with.

Husband has just had to pay another £50 for his and £15 for consultant hospital ones, he has been to 5 different hospitals but we cant afford to get them all,

Its for IB to ESA malarchy.