I’ve moved to live outside the UK and my GP refuses to provide my medical records unless I apply in writing, pay £50 and fly back to pick them up in person!
Luckily I had an Endo letter which meant I could have my prescription (T3) filled where I now reside but, potentially, my next prescription could cost me £300 +
Given that all sorts of confidential information is sent to post (bank statements, passports, birth certificates) why do I need to go pick them up in person?!!!!
Yes, I believe it. It's rare for me to say this but my sympathies are with your GP. He/she has a legal responsibility to keep your medical records confidential and safe.
I wanted a copy of my entire GP record and the standard charge is £50.
I really wouldn't want all my confidential medical files being sent through the post abroad, to be pawed through by random customs officers.
But should I be required to fly over to get them Humanbean?!
As I said earlier, passports, birth certificates are sent by post - even test results come by post.
I don’t have the time and can’t justify the cost of flying back to pick up my information.
Perhaps you could ask the Information Commissioner's Office (the ICO) what your rights are, or the Citizen's Advice Bureau?
There may be a way round your problem, but I'm afraid I don't know what it is.
Daylight robbery!.
I think it’s akin to charging for parking in hospital car parks - excessive.
The charge is fair enough for a complete record of many years to be copied.
Sometimes if your new doctor requests records they will be sent to them for free. Have you tried going that route?
Hi Clarissa - that’s how the problem arose - madness, isn’t it?
we live in a time where Internet is allmost everywere, my records are send through to airwaves, I changed my GP twice. one cost me $50 and had a lot of vital info missing , the other time it was free.
and it was the new praxis who send the request to the former GP.
in your situation mcmurtagh, there should be more help from your former GP, after all you moved far away not just around the corner ! I wish you good luck.
Ok Im going to play devils advocate and this may not be popular (please don't shoot me).
I can understand the Drs reluctance to send via post and individual letter if lost may give a little away but a complete record is practically your whole life. The fines for data protection breaches are extortionate beyond what a practice could afford. It could be said that you knew you were going abroad and getting your records could have been done in advance and there would be no need to fly back. Do you know that all the records have to be checked for 3rd party information by the dr before they can be sent. This is time consuming and takes the dr away from clinical work hence the £50 charge (not set by the dr).
Now what you can do.
Do you really need all your records? Is it really relevant to know you had a cough aged 3 etc. Depending on the Gps clinical system they can do a full summary record of everything that is on the computer system for you. This can be saved as a word file and password protected for emailing. A summary record normally lists your medical problems by date diagnosed. Blood resulsts, immunisation history, medication and consultations. This also has to be checked for 3rd party information so it takes time to do. Remember Gp practices are under staffed and underfunded.
If you need any hospital letters they may be saved and password protected also (hoping someone is tech savvy at the practice). The less you ask for the easier and more likely they will be to send. They are under no obligation, as they have to take a risk assessment of a possible data breach, so its in your best interest to keep it simple. Its also easier for you to send them an email for them to attach your records to in a reply, this way theres less chance of an error.
Try speaking to the practice manager and explain your dilemma and discuss the options above.
Good luck
Hi mtcorr
I only want my Thyroid notes because they’re important to my future treatment.
I can live with paying the £50 but expecting me to fork out for flights when the notes could be safely sent electronically or by courier is unreasonable.
According to the admin. person the notes do not belong to me, they belong to the NHS! And the NHS won’t send them abroad.
Yes, I knew I was moving away but as I’m on T3 only (have been for about 20 years) I needed to be sure that I could get it elsewhere before burning my bridges in the UK. They’ve been trying to pull it and get me back onto T4 for ages so I couldn’t risk it.
Hi McMurtagh
Believe me I was trying to help and yes the practice is right when you leave a practice they have to print off your computer records and along with your paper records they are sent by courier to the board in your area. They in turn send your records to your new practice (but not normally abroad) . Your old practice is never informed where you go to thats why you never have to tell a practice if you are leaving them they just get an electronic notification that you have left.
Theres is also difficulty that within the practice access to records is on a need to know basis. i.e. if you ask if we have recieved a letter that person can look, if they are sending out for clinics etc. This is to stop joe bloggs the receptionist sitting down and having a good read of your records (everything is audited). We are therefore not supposed to access notes of someone who has left the practice without a valid reason.
I would not give up hope if its just a couple of letters I would ask to speak with the Practice Manager. Ask would they be willing to email you a couple of letters if you emailed them full written consent stating that you are willing to take full responsibility should the letters get lost in transit and will not hold the practice accountable.
If you ask nicely (I don't mean to be patronising but you would be amazed at the abuse we get and the number of people that just make demands without even a hello 1st lol) explain that you are having difficulty in getting treatment abroad and would really appreciate their help.
Good luck
The take home message is for everyone to keep up to date medical record copies as you generate them. I suppose the doctor's practice might also get sued if the patient died as a result of their refusal to release urgently needed information to the current attending physician ...
Could you arrange for a family member to collect? They may be willing to accept if the family member is also a patient.
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