NHS England opening up of GP records is being implemented on 1st November

[helvella]

For those affected, this program might be worth a listen.

Particularly the doctor who has allowed patient access for about eighteen years – who has reservations about how this is being done.

The GP records part is the first section.

NHS England opening up of GP records is being implemented on 1st November

Hopefully the other home nations will get there soon.

Inside Health

GP Records, Serotonin & how we get cancer

Released On: 25 Oct 2022

Available for over a year

Do you want to see your GP records at the touch of a button? That’s the plan in England, but doctors warn us freely opening them up to everyone is not safe. And we’ll explore a study that’s transforming our understanding of how cancers develop and bring clarity to the confusion around antidepressants after a study showed low serotonin levels were not the cause of depression.

bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001ddtx

I suspect the date was not chosen to commemorate another opening up:

1512 Michelangelo's paintings on ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican first exhibited

[FAB-jellybean]

Thanks for sharing helvella . I'm aware that we can now request a copy (electronic at least) of our GP records in writing directly from our own GP practice, but do you know how we go about requesting a copy of hospital records? Or are they part of the GP records now that everything is electronic? It's something I've been meaning to do for a while now but haven't got round to it yet. I'm particularly interested in finding out what tests etc were done and what was written when I was being tested for hypothyroidism for years before I was finally diagnosed.

[helvella in reply to FAB-jellybean]

From what I understand, hospital records will still not be directly available.

I think I read that one or other of the other nations has been putting effort into making all non-GP records accessible across all NHS organisations. Thus providing both the immediate benefit of all those treating an individual having access to up to date information and the possibility of patient access immediately including hospital records - when it arrives. (Think that was Wales.)

[helvella in reply to FAB-jellybean]

I think you have to make direct request(s) to the department concerned. That it, you might have to make requests to the imaging and pathology departments for whatever they did. But, say, the endocrinology department for thyroid issues.

However, I have not had to go down that path so do not have first hand knowledge.

While many criticise PALS services, I suggest they might be a good first port of call.

[FAB-jellybean in reply to helvella]

Thank you. I'm in Scotland so it's probably something entirely different if past experience is anything to go by. I've found an email address I can apparently use to request hospital records so I'll try that and see how I get on. Thanks for your help ☺️

[arTistapple in reply to FAB-jellybean]

Well apparently they only keep records for twenty years. They are easy to request, particularly if you have been with the same health board forever. If not you have to request them for each board. I spent a lot of time thinking what I would ask for. In the end I thought just ask for everything. I got a cheeky phone call apologising for the time it took to do it. “There are rather a lot”. When I got them everything seemed to be there. It’s an excellent record of incompetence and lack of joined up thinking. However there was nothing like as much as implied (cheeky sod) but after a while you don’t go to the doc when they can’t help you, so fewer than expected. About 1 and a half inches thickness of paper.

[DJR1]

Thank you for posting helvella I have hesitated to start a thread on this due to uncertainty surrounding the switch-on. The previous two dates for auto switch were abandoned. I understand that the auto switch on will go ahead next week however it is rumoured that some Practices and GP’s are not supporting this and will adjust settings at Practice level to restrict access. I have no definite information on how much support there is for this action.l

Prospective record access from the 1 November should be available after the system suppliers switch the settings to allow patients to view consultation details, test results, documents and letters, immunisations etc going forward.l

Access to your record information ONLY starts from that date, so historical records will not be available. Only new primary care interactions after the 1 November will be available to view in detail. This level of information continues until you change your GP Practice. The access automatically starts again from the date you register with a new Practice so you will not see your previous records. I understand this is due to software issues and redactions not transferring through the systems.

This is a small step forward if it happens for everyone. However for people like us with long term conditions the true value lies in access to historical records which give a detailed account of previous diagnostics and treatments. The ability to share such information with multiple health providers is crucial when secondary care records are not joined up. There is a plan to allow patients to request historical record access via the NHS App next year but this will only be access to coded records not full access. The programme on Radio 4 underlined the benefits of record access for patients but the short time slot meant wider discussion about the politics and funding streams was not possible.

At this point in time I have no idea what patients can do if the auto switch on is reversed by their practice. The GMS contract did mandate access to prospective GP records starting in July 2019, however many practices chose not too and the system is not monitored and patients were unable to see mandated information

I hope this post is not overly pessimistic but it is important to be aware of the difficulties and limitations. I shall be watching carefully to see what happens next week.

As usual this information relates to NHS England only.

[helvella in reply to DJR1]

Apologies for not calling out to you, DJR1 - something happened after I posted and forgot to go back.

Who knows what will happen in the end? Let's hope it goes through and there are only relatively minor issues.