Results from Trials offering Patients Access to GP Records

[DJR1]

For those people who are still struggling to get access to their primary care records this is useful information. If your surgery is resisting access and you want to challenge their views the evidence for adoption is here. While this was an NHS England trial the theory is applicable to all patients.

digital.nhs.uk/services/nhs...

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

Thank you for that post and link.

Having read that, it seems that switching on patient access is almost unalloyed positive news.

The few negatives entirely predictable. And they were predicted.

Realistically, this could have been done years ago. It would have made a permanent improvement in efficiency - financial as well as functional. I daren't think how much could have been saved over, say, ten years.

There were some practices which went down this road even more than ten years ago. (Even if needing technology other than the NHS England App,) I doubt there is anything substantial in this report which would not have been available from assessing those original adopters.

Well over ten years ago, I remember reading about an approach between kidney specialists, GPs, and some others. The benefits were so clear - and this was relatively crude and simple. The primary issues seemed to be if someone saw results or any other form of "bad news" before their doctors. But simply letting the patients know this could happen, and making it easy for them to contact the right people for more information/reassurance addressed this quite well. (All that from memory. Inaccuracies in details more than likely!)

[DJR1 in reply to helvella]

Yes I agree with everything you say. We are so far behind in both our thinking and technology compared to other countries it is embarrassing. The opposition to sharing information with patients is something that I cannot understand. Our European neighbours do not seem to have a problem with it. A Turkish citizen recently shared this with me.

wsa-global.org/winner/turki...

[humanbean in reply to DJR1]

The opposition to sharing information with patients is something that I cannot understand.

I think that the UK medical system is extremely paternalistic, and assumes a combative approach with patients by default. Doctors here simply don't trust many of their patients.

A recent example that has cropped up for people who do already have some access to their medical records is that a query about something in their records or a disagreement about something medical ends up with record access being switched off with no warning.

And from several years ago a report from a patient on a forum - I'm not sure whether it was this one or not - is that a doctor got very aggressive on the subject of patients having access to their records with a (paraphrased) comment that "The patients don't own the records, they are mine, I wrote them. They have no right to see what I've written."

What I wonder about is what doctors will say to patients they have refused access to.

I don't have access to anything on Patient Access apart from being able to request repeat prescriptions. (To be fair, I've never asked for more.) If there has been an automatic switch-on for patients to view their new records at my surgery it hasn't included me, and I very, very rarely speak to or see a doctor anyway - so there may be nothing to see yet.

According to Patient Access my GP Practice has enabled viewing medical records. I don't intend to query it until after historic record access is automatically enabled.

[humanbean in reply to humanbean]

P.S. What does TPP mean in your link?

[PurpleNails Administrator in reply to humanbean]

I think I can answer. 

TPP has been mentioned in other related access posts.  

TPP SYstmOne one of the clinical systems which can be used by practices.

  I think it the most widely used but I’ve heard of others 

EMIS web

Micro test Evolution

VISION

They have a log in page or patient log in service but once set up patients usually choose an app as a platform to access the information. 

TPP suggest Airmid or you can use the NSH app.  

Each app offer slightly different functions and viewing options eg one app might have a  easier facility to search for documents to whereas another provides a better view of test results. 

[humanbean in reply to PurpleNails]

I order repeat prescriptions via Patient Access. I don't have records access.

How can I find out what software my surgery is using?

[Regenallotment in reply to humanbean]

I do this too, via the NHS app - I had to ask reception for access to my records on the app and I filled in a form. So I can now see blood test results but not reports on Ultrasounds etc.

[humanbean in reply to Regenallotment]

Since I haven't seen a doctor for a while I have no recent records to view, apart from info on what repeat prescriptions I've ordered. I've decided that I'm going to wait until historic records access is available. If I don't get it I'll know this is a conscious decision by a doctor at the surgery, and I will want to know why, and what the justification for it is.

I don't actually have a smart phone so can't run the NHS App.

[tattybogle in reply to humanbean]

i haven't got a smart phone either, and this laptop is not long for this world cos it's windows 7 ..... so i'm going to keep calm and carry on ~ having a walk up to the surgery ,asking the receptionist to put my results in my mit... buying a custard tart from the co-op and eating it while walking home down the beach ...

still not 100% sure what an app is , and finding out is not very far up my bucket list.

[DJR1 in reply to humanbean]

PatientAccess is the software for the EMIS Web GP system.

[humanbean in reply to DJR1]

Thank you, I didn't know that.

[DJR1 in reply to humanbean]

I have met that aggression several times. A friend who was a well known campaigner, ex headmistress so very used to public speaking at conferences would be heckled from doctors in the audience with such aggression she gave up speaking about access to GP records at large meetings.

The executive GP at my Practice declared that GP records were his personal diary and not for patients eyes! He refused to speak to me in the end as I could counter every problem he came up with. He had no idea of how the computer system worked and that redaction of documents was a two mouse click process on PatientAccess. There is huge paternalism combined with basic lack of knowledge preventing progress. On the other hand I have met lovely GP’s who apologise for the behaviours/attitudes of their professional colleagues in resisting patient access to their records.

[humanbean in reply to DJR1]

I've been with my current surgery for about 25 years. In 2014 I put in a Subject Access Request for a copy of everything available in my records from that surgery, as well as all historic records.

I found out that entire operations had not been reported. I had organs removed which allegedly grew back again. And my name is a fairly common one and records from other patients with the same name had been filed with mine. This last issue led to me being commiserated with about a miscarriage I had had a few months before - except I hadn't had a miscarriage several months before. The doctor suggested that perhaps I had forgotten.

[LuckyKat]

When pregnant with my youngest - now 33 - I was given my medical records relating to the pregnancy in a folder to take with me to appointments as part of a trial. I was told the results were very positive, with patients being more engaged with their care. Can't understand why it's taken so long to move forward with this, especially now that everything can be done digitally.

[Otto11 in reply to LuckyKat]

I agree. Our friends who live in Cyprus keep their own notes & take them with them to each appointment. That said their relationships with their GP’s are far more personal including having GP’s private telephone numbers & able to call them 24 hours a day. Mind I would need to push a whole filing cabinet full along with me!!

[Regenallotment in reply to LuckyKat]

Me too, this was so good, I still have them. My two are 20 and 18.

[DJR1 in reply to Regenallotment]

I love you have kept them all this time, one of the arguments against patients keeping their records is that “they lose them”. In reality patients are generally very good at keeping hospital records as you have demonstrated here. I used to work in the private sector where patients were given all their x-rays and scans. They would always be brought to follow up clinics.